Three Words
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: When tragedy strikes Riley's family, Ben is determined to be there for him. But when Riley's older brother appears, things begin to take a turn for the worst. Will Riley cope? No slash! Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Three Words**

**Summary**: When tragedy strikes Riley's family, Ben is determined to be there for him. But when Riley's older brother appears, things begin to take a turn for the worst. Will Riley cope? No slash!

**A/N**: Hey, this is my second National Treasure fic. This story was meant to be a oneshot, but it didn't quite work out that way. Now I have no idea how many it will be! I wrote this in honor of my great-uncle who died not too long ago (and more people that I love who have died), and this is also honoring my friends who, like Ben in this story, didn't leave me alone for a minute. So, thanks for looking into this story, and I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Ben and Riley are not mine, and neither is Bon Jovi or _The Prince of Bel-Air_, or Power Rangers. Dustin is mine though!

Chapter One

Ben slowly opened his eyes and groaned when he heard a loud, rather annoying sound from beside him, trying to determine the source of the irksome noise that had roused him from sleep. He then raised his head off the pillow and searched for the phone in the dark, hoping that his actions weren't waking Abigail as she slept. Finally finding the phone, he picked it up and brought it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep as he laid his head back against the pillow. He had noticed from the glowing alarm clock next to the bed that it was almost three in the morning.

"Ben?"

Ben's eyes shot open when he heard the quiet, shaking voice. "Riley? What's wrong?" he said anxiously but quietly, quickly sitting up on the edge of the bed. Abigail stirred a little and turned over beside him, but she remained asleep.

There was a small laugh on the other end of the line. "Ben, I'm sorry that… that I called this late…" Riley muttered.

"No, don't be," Ben told him in an assuring way, able to tell that something was very wrong. "What's wrong, Riley? Are you all right?"

"No, not really." This was _not_ the response that Ben had been hoping to hear. "Ben… I just wanted to tell you that my… my dad died about a half hour ago…"

Ben's eyes widened as concern overtook him. His younger friend sounded so helpless, so lost. He had never seen this side of Riley. He was normally so confident. "I'm so sorry, Riley…"

"Ben, I need you."

The quiet statement caught Ben off guard. It was so simple, yet so heart wrenching. He had been friends with Riley for a long time, but he had never heard him say those three words before. _I need you._

Ben glanced back at the sleeping Abigail and then at the clock on the nightstand beside the bed, watching as the three' o'clock hour approached. "All right. I'll be right there," he said. "Hold on, all right?"

"Yeah…"

"See you in a bit." Ben hung up the phone and rushed to his closet, quickly picking some pants and a shirt and throwing the outfit on. Then, he scribbled a note to Abigail to tell her where he had disappeared and explained the situation in case she should wake up to find him gone. On his way out, he grabbed a light jacket to shield him against the summer breeze and his Walkman, blaring it as he hurried to his car to try to wake himself up. Ben started the car and backed out of the driveway, not wasting any time in driving to Riley's apartment, which was fortunately only about ten minutes away.

Ben parked in the closest spot he could to his friend's building, not minding that it was a handicap space. He quickly locked the car and rushed inside, hurrying to the second floor where his best friend lived. As he reached Riley's door, he was slightly alarmed to see that it was open a crack. He knocked quietly.

"Come in."

Ben slowly opened the door and entered the living room, met with a heart wrenching sight that he knew he should have been prepared for. Riley was lying on the couch with his head propped up against a pillow, his hair disheveled and appearing smaller than he normally did. The small television in front of him was showing _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_, but he didn't seem to be watching it since the CD player behind him was softly playing "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. Ben noted that he really wasn't paying attention to either media. He just seemed to be gazing off into space. The computer whiz didn't even seem to notice him, and his response of "come in" must have been automatic.

At the sound of Ben clearing his throat, Riley jumped as he realized that his friend was there for the first time. "Oh, Ben," he said as he quickly sat up on the couch, seeming flustered. "I didn't… hear you… um… Oh, there's some pizza if you want some. I think it's probably cold though…"

The treasure hunter followed the younger man's hand as he gestured toward the small table in front of the couch. An open box of a nearly entire large pizza sat beside the remote control. Ben smiled when he saw that it was sausage and pepperoni. His favorite. And sometimes pizza tasted better cold anyway.

"Bon Jovi," Ben commented with a small smile after he sat down on the couch beside Riley. "Nice."

"Yeah. He's my dad's favorite musician," Riley muttered as a hint of a smile appeared on his face but then vanished immediately when he heard what had come out of his mouth. "Or was… And this was his favorite show…"

"Who brought the pizza, Riley?" Ben asked quickly, trying to change the subject as he grabbed a piece. It was indeed cold, but that didn't mean it still didn't taste good.

Riley seemed caught off guard for a moment. "What? Oh, the pizza… My older brother, Dustin, brought it about half an hour ago. His girlfriend is the owner of a pizzeria, so that's how he was able to get it this late. He left right before I called you."

Ben nodded, now understanding why Riley hadn't called him immediately when his father had passed on. At least he hadn't been alone. That was the worst thing that could have happened…

"I didn't know you had a brother," Ben commented, grapping another piece of pizza. He didn't know why he was so hungry at three in the morning. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you had a brother?"

"Oh, well, it never really came up in conversation. As I recall, you never asked if I had a sibling," Riley replied, trying to add some of his sarcastic humor into his response. "But, I don't know. I guess because we've always had this deep-seeded rivalry and we sort of went our separate ways during high school."

"Rivalry?"

Riley laughed a little. "Let's just say that it all began years and years ago when he both had a crush on the Pink Ranger."

Ben smiled, remembering those days clearly. "Well, at least he still came to be with you for a little while," he said.

Riley sighed as he leaned back against the couch. "Dustin and I were both close to Dad," he muttered in a voice barely above a whisper. "He was the only one we had after… after my mom died. I was six, Dustin was ten. Our dad raised us on his own, somehow able to miraculously commit himself to everything that we both did during school. Sporting events, concerts, conferences, you name it. Sometimes it seemed that he was even in two places at once. He was incredible, Ben…"

A sigh escaped from Ben as he watched his best friend. He felt terrible. Riley was now parentless, and he still had both of his. Though he could tell that the computer whiz was trying to act as though he was perfectly fine about the whole situation, Ben could tell that he was being torn apart on the inside. There was no way that he was going to leave Riley alone that night.

"Riley…"

"Look, Ben. If you're expecting some kind of sob-fest, you're not gonna' get one," Riley muttered, suddenly extremely interested in the end of _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ episode. "It's already happened…"

Ben placed his hand on Riley's shoulder, waiting until the younger man looked back at him before speaking. "Riley, you can't pretend that you're completely over your father's death when it's only a little after a half hour later," he told him. "I remember when my grandfather died. It hurts terribly, and it's a wound that will take a long time to heal. Trust me, I know what you're going through. I know the pain."

Riley seemed to want to say something, but then he stopped and looked away. Ben only tightened his hand on his shoulder. "Grab your blanket and pillow, Riley."

"Why?" Riley asked, confused as he watched his older friend get to his feet.

Ben turned back to him. "You're coming to my house tonight," he answered. "I'm not letting you stay here on your own. Just think of it as being a sleepover."

Riley looked at him for a long moment without saying anything, his mind processing all of what had just been said. Then, he sighed as he shakily stood up, turning off both the television and the CD player before grabbing the pillow he had been laying against and a blanket that was folded up on the end of the couch.

Ben was leading the way to the door when Riley suddenly stopped. "Forgot something," he mumbled, going back through the living room and opening another door, disappearing inside for a moment. He soon reappeared carrying his trusty laptop. "All right," he said when he approached the older man. "I'm ready now. Ben… thank you…"

"Of course." Ben placed his arm around the young man's shoulders and led him out into the hall, taking his keys from him. He was about to close the door and lock the apartment, but stopped when his gaze landed on a picture that was sitting on the messy table beside the pizza box that he hadn't noticed before.

It was a picture of Riley and his father.

**A/N**: As I said before, this wasn't meant to be a oneshot, but it just kind of worked out that way. Thank you for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Nope! Ben and Riley (and Abigail) still aren't mine. And neither is Avenged Sevenfold.

**A/N**: Hey, I'm glad you guys like this! It brightens my day when I see reviews. I'm right in the middle of finals now, so I don't think the next update will be as quick. Thank you to **Halo**, **Miss Fenway, daisyduke80, Icestar4621 **(sorry for the confusion! It is more than a oneshot), **Lo, supernaturalfreakisabookworm, **and **Harm Marie** for your wonderful reviews! I hope you all enjoy the next installment! And does anyone know about that National Treasure 3 trailer thing on fanfiction that I've been noticing? Let me know in your reviews if you do. That would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Enjoy!

**Reminder**: This is not a slash fic, so all that happens is just friendly fluff. Thanks!

Chapter Two

"Any station that you want to listen to in particular?" Ben asked as he drove down the empty road. He knew that rock was his friend's favorite kind of music, but it really depended on his mood.

"Not really," Riley answered, his voice muffled against the pillow placed against the window so that he could rest his head on it. "You can pick."

Ben grinned. _You can pick._ Riley was about to regret saying those three words… He took one hand off the wheel and turned on the radio, surfing through the channels until he reached the station that played rap twenty-four/seven… Riley's least favorite kind of music. He even got the reaction that he had been hoping for.

"Ah! Ben, not _this_ crap!" Riley cried in over exaggerated anguish, trying to block out the horrible noise with his pillow.

"You said I could pick."

"Well, I lied. Now change it before I make your existence miserable."

Laughing, Ben turned the radio to something that he knew Riley would enjoy, the all rock station. Riley settled comfortably back in the passenger seat when "Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold echoed in his ears.

"Now _this_ is more like it," he muttered, a smile appearing on his face. "Thanks, Ben."

"You're welcome, Riley." Ben smiled to himself as he continued to drive. Now, his favorite computer whiz was beginning to return to his normal, whiny self. Riley not liking rap was a complete understatement. He _despised_ it. The older man didn't enjoy it either, but he had to do _something_ to get Riley back. And it seemed to be working…

_"Come back to me, it's almost easy…"_

Suddenly, Ben heard a quiet sob, and he slammed on the brakes, glad that he and his passenger were both wearing their seat belts. He turned quickly to the younger man and saw that Riley had dug his face into his pillow, his shoulders shaking as he tried without success to suppress his tears. "Riley!"

There was a long moment of silence where Riley tried to regain his composure. Then, his face still in the pillow, he muttered, "Ben, you're in the middle of the road."

Ben sighed with frustration. _There_ was the Riley he knew, even though he could hear in his shaking voice that he was still crying. "Hardly anyone else is out this late a night," Ben countered. "Are you all right, Riley?"

Before his best friend could answer, a pair of bright headlights flared on behind them. Ben turned around, watching with fear as a black SUV nearly hit them as it sped past, its horn blaring. Yeah, good call, Ben. There was no one else on the road…

Riley quickly sat up, his moist, red-rimmed eyes wide. "What was that?" he asked anxiously. "Did it… did it just almost hit us?!"

"Relax, Riley," Ben answered, his eyes narrowing as the vehicle rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. "We're fine." But the famed treasure hunter knew that whatever just happened was strange. That SUV had been going much faster than it needed to, especially at almost four in the morning.

"Can we just go home now?" Riley muttered, leaning back against the pillow. "You know, before we nearly get hit by another Supercar that is going faster than a speeding bullet?"

Ben grinned. "Yes, Lois Lane," he said as he began to drive again, inwardly laughing at how lightly his friend was taking the situation. "What else can I do for you?"

"Ha. You're funny." The funny thing was that Riley didn't sound too amused…

They soon arrived at Ben's estate, and Riley slowly clambered out with his pillow and blanket under one arm and his laptop under the other. Ben locked the car up and followed him, the younger man's shiver not going unnoticed. The treasure hunter quickly fumbled for the right key and unlocked the door as fast as he could, anxious for his friend to warm up.

Riley was at home even before Ben could begin to say, "make yourself at home." He slipped off his shoes and threw his blanket and pillow down on the couch, gently setting his laptop down on the table in front of it. The older man laughed to himself as he wandered into the kitchen to get something to drink. He stopped when something on the table caught his eye.

"Hey, Riley. Come here."

Riley slowly came into the kitchen at the sound of his name, rubbing his tired eyes. "What, Ben?" he asked, then stopped beside his older friend when he saw what was on the table. "Whoa. Have you been visited by the hot chocolate fairy, even though it's summer?"

"I think Abigail may have made these after I left to go get you," Ben grinned as he sat down at the table and picked up one of the two steaming mugs. "I sure didn't. Come join me."

"I still say it was the hot chocolate fairy," Riley muttered, sitting down beside the treasure hunter almost reluctantly. "But we can thank Abi anyway…"

Ben smiled as he took a cautious sip of the hot chocolate that his wife had prepared for them. It seemed that Riley was beginning to regain some of his humor, and he instantly knew that he had made the right decision by bringing him home with him…

"He was fine yesterday."

Ben was caught off guard by the sudden quiet statement. "What?"

Riley opened his mouth to say something more, but then he closed it again as he rubbed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. "Never mind," he answered, getting to his feet. "I think I'll hit the sack. I'll just crash in the same room as always, shall I?"

"Yeah." Ben watched with concern as the younger man left the kitchen, grabbed his pillow, blanket, and laptop, finally disappearing up the stairs. He sighed as his gaze moved to his best friend's nearly full mug of hot chocolate, deciding to wrap it up in plastic wrap. Abigail had made Riley's favorite kind, hazelnut, and he had barely touched it. Oh, well. Ben knew that it would still be just as good warmed up later that day.

The clock above him suddenly struck four, making the treasure hunter jump. Another sigh escaped from Ben when he heard the water running in the bathroom upstairs, knowing that Riley was removing his contact lenses and probably splashing some cold water on his face. Ben fought to hold his own tears back, worried about his best friend. This was going to be a long early morning.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"No! Dad! No!"

Ben quickly sat up in bed when he heard the frantic shouts, Abigail doing the same beside him. The treasure hunter had left the door of their room open so they could keep an ear on Riley, and he was glad they did. He quickly glanced at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was nearly six in the morning. At least Riley had slept peacefully for about two hours…

"I'll handle it," Ben told a shaken Abigail, who nodded as he left the room. He opened the door to the room across the hall that his friend always occupied when he spent the night and saw with fear that Riley was flailing wildly on the bed with the blanket wrapped tightly around him, almost trapping him in place. In the dim light of the sun's early rays coming through the curtain, Ben could see that his face was pale and tears were running freely down his cheeks. The computer whiz's shouts had ceased, but he was still whimpering fearfully.

"Riley!" Ben hurried over to the bed and sat down, placing his hands on the younger man's shoulders to try to stop his wild movement.

"No! Let go of me!" Riley cried out in his sleep, his struggling intensifying as he attempted to fight out of his hold.

But Ben only tightened his hands on his arms. "Riley, calm down! It's me!" he said desperately, hoping to get through to him. "It's Ben!"

Riley struggled for a few more long minutes before his eyes snapped open, his chest heaving as his frantic gaze moved all around the room, finally landing on his friend. "I'm sorry, Ben…" he muttered, closing his eyes as more tears flowed from them.

Ben didn't say anything, but he pulled his shaking best friend close to him into an embrace, able to feel his racing heartbeat strongly against his arm. Surprisingly, Riley didn't resist, which was unusual. The treasure hunter figured that he needed all of the comfort that he could get as he continued to cry into his shoulder.

After for what felt like to be hours but was truthfully only about five minutes, Riley's heart returned to its normal, comfortable rate as he calmed down, and he pulled away from his friend. "Hey, Ben. Can you hand me my computer, Man? I wanna' show you something."

Confused, Ben reached down and picked it up from where it sat on the floor, handing it to him. Riley took a deep, steadying breath and rubbed his eyes as he opened it, turning it on. "My dad bought this for me a few years ago," he muttered while it was loading, seeing that Ben was still beside him. "He bought me a lot of my computers through the years, actually. I was always more into computers and technology while my brother was more into history."

"Really?" Ben's gaze saddened when he saw that Riley's background on the computer was the same picture of him and his dad that he had seen at his apartment. Riley then clicked on one of the folders that was on his desktop, opening a large group of images, the first one being a picture of Riley as a young boy with his father along with an older boy that must have been Dustin, Riley's brother.

The two friends looked through the images of Riley's dad for a while in silence. Then, Riley turned to Ben with dim, child-like eyes and said one of the most heart wrenching things the treasure hunger had ever heard him say.

"Thank you for being there for me, Ben."

**A/N**: Not the most exciting, but it'll pick up soon. Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: No, nothing from National Treasure is mine. Everything else is.

**A/N**: Hey! Finals are over!!!!!!!! So, I'll probably be able to update more quickly now. Thanks for your patience. This chapter will have a slightly different feel to it, because I was trying to figure out how to add mystery, adventure, and finally treasure into the story somehow, and this is the introduction to that. Again, none of this was originally going to happen, but it just turned out that way. Hope you enjoy! Warm thanks to **momiji'sunusedhalo, Lo**, **fantomfairy**, **daisyduke80 **(thank you for the idea. Please send the video! I could probably use the song later.), **Miss Fenway**, **Harm Marie**, **Hobbit-Luvr**, **Gamine Madcap**, **Halo**, and **Majestik Moose **for your wonderful reviews. Hope you like this chapter!

Chapter Three

Ben slowly opened his eyes when a bright light hit them, and he was startled to see that he had fallen asleep leaning against the headrest of Riley's bed. The only thing was, the techie wasn't beside him. He sat up quickly as a feeling of panic rose within him, noticing that it was already after nine in the morning. Where was Riley?

The treasure hunter quickly jumped off of the bed and rushed into his own room, seeing that Abigail was also gone. Ben then ran down the stairs two at a time, stopping with surprise when he heard a sarcastic comment.

"Are you always that loud in the morning?"

Ben walked into the kitchen and saw that Riley was sitting cross-legged on the counter, a glass of milk beside him and a few chocolate chip cookies in his hand. "Do you always sit on the counter and have milk and cookies in the morning?" he countered.

"No," Riley replied casually, dunking one of the cookies in the milk. "Only after a nightmare. Dad always used to give Dustin and I milk and cookies if we had a bad dream. He said that it would make them go away."

Ben's face saddened when he thought of what had happened only a couple of hours earlier. Riley hadn't told him what the nightmare had been about, but it must have been terrible. "Did you get any more sleep?" he asked.

Riley shook his head. "No. I couldn't after…" His answer trailed off. "I was going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful so I left you alone. Abi is grocery shopping by the way."

"Well, milk and cookies aren't the best breakfast that you could have," Ben told him, moving to the refrigerator and opening it. "What would you like? Pancakes, waffles, eggs…"

"French toast?" Riley said hopefully.

Ben smiled. "French toast it is," he replied.

Riley jumped off the counter and moved to the sink, beginning to wash out his now empty milk glass. "Ben, could I ask you a favor?"

Confused, Ben looked over his shoulder at his best friend. "Sure, Riley," he said as he began making the French toast. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could bring me to Andy's Funeral Home at noon," Riley replied softly, now drying the glass and inspecting it for smudges. "Dustin and I are going to make the funeral arrangements today."

"Isn't it a little soon?" Ben wondered. "Your father died… what, about six hours ago?"

Riley sighed. "It was Dustin's idea," he explained as he put the glass away. "He wants to get it taken care of as soon as possible. I didn't know what else to do, so I agreed."

Ben's eyes narrowed. Making funeral plans so hastily for a father who practically raised both of his sons on his own seemed strange to him. What was the hurry?

"Can you take me or not?"

"Yeah, Riley. Of course," Ben muttered, slightly surprised by the younger man's impatience. Then again, his whole world had just been turned upside down because of the sudden death of his father, and he had only gotten about two hours of sleep at the most. He really shouldn't have been that surprised.

Soon, Ben and Riley were sitting at the kitchen table, silently eating their French toast. The older man kept a close eye on his friend, able to tell that there was definitely something off about him. "Riley… you're not looking forward to meeting with your brother today, are you?" he suddenly asked.

Riley was caught off guard by the question. "No, not really, Ben," he answered, not meeting his best friend's gaze.

"Any reason why?"

The techie sighed and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "If you had a nightmare where your own brother kills your dad, you wouldn't be too keen to see him either," Riley muttered.

"You had a nightmare where your brother killed your dad?" Ben was horrified.

"Yeah," Riley said with a small laugh. "I mean, I know it didn't happen, but…"

"It can still be traumatizing," Ben interrupted sternly, yet his voice was full of concern. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Riley?"

Riley was silent for a long moment, not meeting Ben's eyes. "Yes," he finally murmured, nodding just to prove it to himself. "For Dad."

Ben sighed. "All right. Then I'll take you."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The ride to the funeral home was a silent one. It was almost a relief when Ben pulled into the parking lot, and both friends quickly climbed out of the car just to escape the tense atmosphere. Riley led the way to the door, but turned around to face the older man with a forced smile on his face when they reached them. "Look, Ben. I appreciate you bringing me here, but you don't have to come in with me," he said.

But Ben wasn't going to let him escape so easily. "And let you handle this alone with your brother?" he replied, going past him and entering the building. "Not a chance."

Riley didn't even get the chance to protest, so he sighed and followed Ben inside. The older man's eyes traveled around the spacious, chandelier-lit room with a sigh. The last time he had been in Andy's Funeral Home was when he had gone with his dad to plan the funeral for his grandfather. All of the memories were beginning to come back to him now…

A young woman who appeared to not care that she was there was sitting behind an oak-carved desk, loudly chewing gum as she filed her nails. Riley slowly approached the desk, having to clear his throat to get her attention. After a moment, the woman cast her eyes up to him in annoyance. "Yes?"

"Um, hi," Riley muttered uncomfortably. Why did _he_ have to be the first one there? "I'm here to help with the planning of a funeral for Jeremy Poole."

The woman, named Cathy judging my the name badge on her shirt, reluctantly set down her nail file and opened a notebook beside her, searching through it until she reached the P's. "Dustin or Riley Poole?" she asked without looking up.

"Riley."

"Have a seat," Cathy said, making a small note before shutting the notebook again and leaning back in her chair. "Andy will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Riley turned away from the desk and walked to the opposite wall and sat down in one of the metal chairs. Ben sat down in the chair next to him. "She's friendly," the younger man muttered, loud enough for only Ben to hear as he put his head into his hands.

A sympathetic smile crossed the treasure hunter's face. "Andy is much nicer," he reassured him. "Cathy wasn't here last time I was."

Riley slowly raised his gaze to meet his friend's eyes. "You came to this funeral home too?" he asked.

"Yes," Ben told him quietly. "For my grandfather."

Before Riley could reply, the door to the funeral home opened again, and two men entered. The first had dark hair similar to Riley's in color that fell to his chin. His eyes were such a light blue that they were almost gray in color, and they felt as cold as ice. Ben instantly knew who this man was, and the flicker of an almost fearful respect in his best friend's eyes confirmed it.

Cathy sat straight up in her chair when the man approached, seeming to recognize that he had some kind of authority. "Yes?"

"I'm here to plan the funeral of Jeremy Poole," the man said simply.

"Dustin Poole?" Cathy asked after she flipped through the notebook again.

"Yes."

"Have a seat, Sir. Andy will be with you shortly."

Dustin turned from the desk, and a small smile appeared on his face when he saw his younger brother. "Riley," he addressed cheerfully.

Riley nodded, not able to meet the other man's eyes as he muttered, "Dustin."

Ben looked at the techie with concern. Riley wasn't a weak person, he could stand up to anyone, but Dustin had such a dominant, overpowering aura that the younger man must have bent to his every will. That's when he noticed that the older Poole's eyes were on him.

"Who's your friend, Riley?"

"My best friend, Benjamin Gates," Riley answered. "I see you brought Nick with you." His gaze had landed on the blond-haired man standing behind his brother.

Dustin's cold eyes seemed to brighten at hearing the sound of the older man's name. "Ben Gates? _The _Ben Gates?" he said with a laugh. "The one who discovered the treasure of the Templar Knights and the lost City of Gold?"

"Yes," Ben replied as he got to his feet so that he could stand eye-to-eye with Dustin. "And you're Riley's brother?"

"I am," Dustin told him, shaking the treasure hunter's hand. "I must say that it is an honor to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine," Ben muttered without much feeling, able to tell that this man and Riley were nothing alike.

Then, a door near them opened and an older, slightly rotund man stepped out. "Dustin and Riley Poole?"

"Yes, that would be us," Dustin said, approaching the man while dragging Riley along behind him.

"Ah, yes. Pleasure to meet you," the man replied, warmly shaking hands with the older Poole first and then the younger. "My name is Andy, and I hope that I will be able to help you boys through this difficult time in the most organized way possible. Please, step inside my office."

Dustin nodded and entered the room, Riley casting one last almost terrified look to Ben before following his brother. Andy was about to shut the door when the treasure hunter lunged at the door and stopped him. The older man looked back at him, startled. "I'm sorry, Sir, but this meeting is for the Poole brothers only," Andy stated. "If you are not immediate family, you may not come in."

"I'm close enough," Ben whispered. "My best friend is in there, and he needs me now. Besides, don't you remember me? I'm Benjamin Gates."

Andy studied him for a long moment before a smile of recognition came over his face. "Ah, yes. I remember you now, Ben," he replied cheerfully. "You were here with your father Patrick to arrange the funeral for your grandfather." He sighed and lowered his voice. "I normally don't do this, but the younger man looks like he's on the verge of tears. Come on in."

Ben smiled with relief, following the funeral home owner inside the smaller room that he had been in years before. Riley's eyes were on the door curiously, wondering what the commotion had been, and when he saw Ben enter the room, a great weight seemed to lift off his shoulders as he sighed with relief. Ben smiled encouragingly and sat down beside him.

The next hour drew by so incredibly slowly that it felt like an eternity. Dustin and Riley had finally agreed with help from Andy the location that the funeral was going to be held was at the small church that the brothers had attended when they were children, their father was going to be buried in the churchyard behind it, and how many people they were going to invite. Since their father wouldn't have wanted a big funeral, they finally decided that they would only invite family that was in town or in the surrounding area. Finally, the meeting seemed to be drawing to a close.

"Did our father leave Riley or I anything?" Dustin suddenly asked. Riley and Ben both glanced at him.

Andy frowned. "I'm afraid that I don't know that," he answered, leaning forward on the desk. "Your father's will has not yet been located, if he left one at all. I will have your lawyer alert you if anything is found."

Dustin nodded without saying a word, seeming to be disappointed by the answer.

"Thank you for your time, gentlemen," Andy said, getting to his feet and shaking hands with both Dustin and Riley again. "I will do my best to make sure that your father's last wishes are met. But, I would like to have a word with Riley alone for a moment."

"Thank you." Dustin gave a strange, unreadable look to his younger brother as he rose to his feet. Then, he gave Andy one last look before he left the office and shut the door behind him. Ben did not leave Riley's side.

"Alone is alone, Mr. Gates," Andy muttered when he saw that he wasn't leaving.

"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Ben," Riley snapped before Ben could say a word.

Andy's eyes moved from Riley to Ben and back before he sighed. "All right," he said heavily, opening a drawer of his desk. "I don't think that you remember me, Riley, but I was a friend of your father for years. I am the only one he trusted to give you this."

The older man pulled out an envelope that was yellowed with age and sealed with what appeared to be some kind of crest. Riley took it carefully and looked it over, wondering what it was. "You cannot tell anyone that you have that in your possession outside of Ben, not even Dustin," the funeral home owner continued.

"I won't," Riley replied, looking up at the man with confusion. "But what is it?"

Andy slowly shook his head. "That I do not know. But it must have been important since it was meant for your eyes only."

Ben nodded when his younger friend didn't respond. "Thank you very much," he said as he stood up. "Come on, Riley. Let's go home."

"You're welcome."

Riley got to his feet and slowly followed his best friend. Then, he turned and looked at the elderly man one last time as he hid the envelope before he shut the door behind him.

**A/N**: As I said before, I'm writing more elements into the story now. What's in the envelope? You'll have to wait to find out. Hopefully, I can get the next chapter up soon. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from National Treasure is mine. None. Zip. Nada. But Dustin and everyone else I made up are mine!

**A/N**: Yay! Hooray for quick updates! I now have a study hall period, which means serious writing time! Thank you to **Thuraya Known**, **ink0and0paper**(welcome aboard!), **soccer2010**, **fantomfairy**, **daisyduke80**, **Harm Marie**, **Majestik Moose**, **Halo**, and **momiji'sunusedhalo** for your wonderful reviews! They made me smile. So, on to the next chapter, shall we?

**Warning**: Minor character death (this is one of the reasons that this story is rated "T"). Also, I'm not the best riddle writer, so just bear with me.

Chapter Four

"So, you have no idea what could possibly be in that envelope?" Ben asked as he pulled out of the parking lot of Andy's Funeral Home.

"No, not a clue," Riley answered, turning the envelope in every possible angle as if he would find something. "If I did, I would tell you."

Ben laughed a little. "Why don't you just open it so you can both of our curiosities at rest?"

Riley glanced at him. "I would prefer to open it at your house where I know I'm safe, even though we are in the presence of Mean-Declaration-Lady-Abigail," he told him.

"All right then. But you're askin' for it."

Suddenly, a black SUV sped past them on the road. Riley quickly sat up, clutching the envelope tightly to him. "Was that the same SUV that almost hit us before?" he said anxiously.

"Riley, how many people do you think have black SUVs?" Ben asked as he rolled his eyes.

Riley instantly calmed down. "Yeah, that's true," he muttered, sitting back in the seat and returning to investigating the envelope. "Sorry, Ben. My nerves are just kind of… jumbled."

"Perfectly understandable." But as Ben continued to drive, he couldn't help but think that it had been the same vehicle that had almost hit them when he had first picked up Riley. Then, he began to wonder if it had anything to do with the envelope that Andy had given to his best friend.

And if so, what was inside that was so important?

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Would you like me to open it, Riley?" Abigail asked with a slight hint of annoyance. "I _am_ trained in handling antique documents, you know."

"No, that's all right, Abi," Riley muttered in answer, staring at the envelope intently as though it would open on its own if he stared at it long enough.

Ben sighed. He, Abigail, and Riley were sitting at the kitchen table with the envelope that had been given to the techie by Andy on the table before them. "It's not going to open itself, Riley."

"I know," Riley said, still merely staring at the yellowed paper. "Just… just give me a minute…"

Abigail studied the envelope as well. "Riley, do you recognize that symbol?" she wondering, trying to change the topic as she pointed at the seal.

Riley nodded. "It's our family's crest. Well, our ancestor's crest," he explained, his eyes running over the image of a hawk carrying a goblet in one talon and a sword in the other. "I… I think I'll… open it now…"

Ben and Abigail exchanged excited looks and leaned forward on the table while Riley took the envelope in a shaking hand and carefully opened it. He delicately reached inside and pulled out a thin piece of paper, his eyes quickly scanning it.

"What is it?" Abigail asked quietly.

"It's a riddle," Riley answered when he recognized his father's handwriting, confused by the fact that he had specifically left him a riddle when he wasn't very good at solving them.

Ben blinked in surprise. This was not what he had expected. "What does it say?"

Riley cleared his throat. "It says:

_I hold history_

_I hold fact,_

_A record of every act._

_Eras past, _

_Eras true, _

_You could learn a thing or two._

_Not a word, _

_Not a page,_

_But another way to view an age._

_Not the key,_

_But a clue_

_To lead you to a treasure true."_

Riley then looked up at his two best friends. "Care to interpret?"

Abigail sighed. "Well, it's obviously talking about recording history," she mused. "Maybe a book of some sort? A library?"

"Not, not a book," Ben intervened. "It said 'not a word, not a page, but another way to view an age'. It's not talking about a book. Another way of learning history…"

"But what's another way of learning history if not by a book?" Riley wondered.

Ben was silent, thinking intently about Riley's question. Another way of viewing history… A place that held history and fact… Then, a smile appeared on his face as the answer came to him, and identical smile lighting up his wife's features. "Are you thinking the same thing I am?" he said.

Abigail nodded, earning an annoyed sigh from Riley. "All right. Care to tell all us non-history nerds what the answer is?" he muttered.

"Where else, Riley?" Ben replied, the smile still lingering on his face. "It's our very own museum."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Andy sighed as he placed the remaining papers in his desk, shutting the drawer before getting to his feet. It had been one of the longest days of his life, or at least that's what it felt like. He had been deeply impacted by the death of his close friend, Jeremy Poole, and facing both of his sons had been very difficult. The older funeral home owner had been unsettled by Dustin's question of if their father had left them anything, and he was just relieved that he was able to get the envelope safely into Riley's hands. Jeremy had been very specific on which son to give it to…

"All right, Cathy. I'm heading out now," Andy called out to her, grabbing his coat out of the closet. "Ready to go, dear?" He felt uneasy when she didn't answer.

Suddenly, he gasped when he heard the sound of soft voices, shortly followed by a loud gunshot and a piercing scream that sounded like Cathy. Andy rushed to the door of his office to see what had happened, but before he could see, a man stepped in front of him with a gun in his hand. The owner swallowed nervously as he was forced back into the room. "What have you done with Cathy?" he asked.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to plan the poor girl's funeral," the man told him icily. "And if you don't want the next one to be yours, you'll tell me what I want to know. Where is the envelope?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Andy stuttered as he backed away from the man.

But he was persistent. "Does Riley Poole have it?" he demanded harshly, keeping his gun trained on the funeral home owner. "Does he?"

Andy faltered for a split second, wondering how this man knew about the envelope. But then, he replaced it with determination. He had to keep Jeremy's last wish safe… "I'm not going to tell you," he whispered forcefully.

"I didn't want to have to do this, old man, but you leave me no choice." The man then took careful aim with the weapon and pulled the trigger.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben slowly opened his eyes, groaning softly. There was that really annoying sound again, right by his ear, that brought him out of sleep. Realizing that it was the phone and knowing that it wasn't Riley this time, he quickly picked it up before it woke his wife. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Gates."

The treasure hunter sighed and rubbed his tired eyes as he checked the time. "Not to be rude, Agent Sadusky, but it's after midnight," Ben muttered sleepily. "Why are you calling?"

"I do apologize for the lateness of the hour, Ben, but it's important," Agent Sadusky said. "I was wondering if Mr. Riley Poole was there since we cannot reach him at his home."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you speak with him tonight," Ben told him. "His father died only almost twenty-four hours ago, and today was very stressful for him. This is really the only sleep he has gotten since, and I'm not going to let you disturb hi-!"

"I'm fully aware of the situation, Ben," Sadusky interrupted sternly. "But the matter at hand is that it's urgent I speak with him."

Ben sighed. "Anything that you want to say to him you can say to me," he said. "I will pass along your message."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and he could tell that the agent was considering his words. "Very well," Sadusky replied. "I assume you know Andrew Carson, owner of Andy's Funeral Home?"

"Yes…" Ben muttered slowly, a bad feeling rising up inside of him. "Why do you ask?"

He was not prepared for what he heard next, especially the last three words.

"Both Andrew and his secretary were found dead in the funeral home tonight," Sadusky told him heavily. "They were murdered."

**A/N**: Hmm, not good. Why is the FBI looking for Riley and who killed Andy? You'll have to find out with the next chapter. But feel free to leave your guesses. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Nope, nothing from National Treasure is mine. I wish…

**A/N**: Hey! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! I'm able to update so fast because school was cancelled today because it was too cold. Yay! So, now I can bring you the next installment faster. Thank you to **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **hollyclaw**, **Miss Fenway**, **omalleyanatomy26**, **Halo**, **krista**, **Harm Marie**, and **Thuraya Known** for your wonderful reviews. Also, special thanks to **Halo** for helping with some later plot developments and making this story take another completely different turn that originally intended, but yet it's so cool! Thanks, Halo, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Chapter 5

"Why do they want _me_? I didn't do anything!" Riley moaned in irritation, placing his head against the window and closing his eyes.

"I know you didn't. You were with us the entire night," Ben replied without feeling as he kept his eyes on the road. "Besides, even if you hadn't been, I still wouldn't believe that you were a suspect for murder."

"Thanks, Ben," Riley muttered, his voice heavy with sleep. "Do you really think that's what this is all about? Do they think I'm a suspect?"

Ben sighed heavily as he came to a stop at a red light. "I hope not."

The rest of the ride to the funeral home was a silent one, mainly because Riley had fallen asleep leaning against the window and Ben felt terrible for having to wake him and drag him along. He felt so bad for the kid about the death of his father, but now the situation was getting even worse…

He finally pulled into the parking lot of Andy's funeral home, which was now full of police cars. Ben sighed as he turned off the car, seeing that Riley had remained asleep and looked so peaceful. He hated to wake him, but he had to.

"Riley, come on. Wake up," Ben muttered, gently shaking him. "We're here."

The techie groaned and tried to push his hand away, but he opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he slowly sat up. He blinked a few times, finally realizing where he was. "Let's just get this over with."

Ben followed Riley into the building, which was swarming with police officers and FBI agents. Bright flashes were everywhere, capturing photographs of what they assumed were the two murder victims. Riley squirmed nervously, feeling uncomfortable, and Ben stepped closer to him, assuring him that he wasn't alone.

"Ah, there you are. Thank you for coming, gentlemen."

"Agent Sadusky," Ben muttered when the man approached.

"Ben," Sadusky replied with a nod. "Riley."

Riley shifted a little at the stern sound of his name. Ben sighed, noticing his action. "Why do you want us here, Sadusky?" he asked.

"Just for some questioning." At the agent's statement, two officers came up behind Riley and roughly grabbed his arms.

"Hey!"

"Please come with us, Mr. Poole," one of the men said, attempting to pull him away.

"No! I didn't do anything! Ben!"

Anger flared up inside of Ben as he watched his friend fight in the grasp of the officers, hearing the desperate tone of his voice when he said his name. "Let him go!" he suddenly shouted, reaching forward and wrenching Riley away from them.

"You can't interfere with an on-going investigation, Mr. Gates," Sadusky snapped.

"I don't care," Ben replied heatedly, trying to shield Riley from the officers. "I want to know what's going on here. Why is Riley being questioned for murder?"

"Yeah," Riley agreed, his voice a little higher than he meant it to be. "You know me, Sadusky. I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Sadusky sighed. "Look, I apologize, Riley. But it's just procedure-!"

"When were the bodies discovered?" Ben interrupted, trying to get his attention away from apprehending Riley.

"About a half hour ago," Sadusky told him. "A woman came in after finding the door unlocked, claiming that she heard two gunshots. She found the bodies and called the police immediately."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Okay. Number one, I don't believe in guns, so I would never use one," he said, holding up one finger to make his point. "And number two, I was sound asleep a half hour ago at Ben's house."

"Can anyone prove that?" Sadusky asked.

"_Ben_," Riley answered with exasperation as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's his house…"

"You're still not answering my question, Sadusky," Ben muttered. "Why are you targeting Riley?"

Sadusky met the treasure hunter's eyes, taking a deep breath. "Come with me, gentlemen." The FBI agent led Ben and Riley to the secretary's oak-carved desk, Cathy's body lying behind it on the floor. In her limp hand was a pen, beside her, her open notebook.

"Look at what she wrote on the page," Sadusky continued. "Judging by her handwriting, we believe that she had already been shot when she wrote it."

Ben knelt down beside Cathy and looked at the notebook, horrified by the two words messily scribbled on the page that the secretary had written before she died.

Riley Poole 

"Why would she write my name even though I wasn't here?" Riley wondered in a whisper, trying not to look at Cathy's body.

"I don't know," Ben replied, slowly shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense…"

Riley suddenly gasped, looking up at Agent Sadusky. "May I go check Andy's office?" he asked, seeing Ben look at him curiously out of the corner of his eye. "_Without_ being followed by your men?"

Sadusky nodded. "Go right ahead," he answered, gesturing to the open door. Riley smiled in return and maneuvered his way through the mass of police officers. When he stepped into the office that he had been in earlier that day, the techie was horrified by what he saw.

The entire room was a disastrous mess. The drawers of the desk lay in heaps on the floor, papers thrown carelessly everywhere around the room. The closet door was open, everything inside ransacked. It appeared that it had been searched…

"Ben, come here."

The treasure hunter jumped to his feet and joined his friend in the doorway, shocked to see all of the damage that had been done to the office. "Whoever killed them must have been looking for something," Ben muttered.

"Do you think that whoever did this knows about the envelope?" Riley said nervously.

Ben didn't answer. Instead, he left the doorway and went back to the open notebook. He studied the writing carefully, sighing. "Her sentence wasn't finished," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Sadusky asked, coming up behind the treasure hunter.

"Look at the ending line," Ben answered, pointing at the letter e at the end of "Poole", and then to a tiny line near it, which appeared to be the start of another letter. "She was going to write something else, but she didn't get the chance."

Sadusky shook his head in disbelief. "Have I told you how incredible your perception is?" he said. "We'll look farther into this. Hopefully, this will prove Riley's innocence."

But Ben ignored his comment and gestured for Riley to come back to him. "I don't think that this person just knows about the envelope," he told his younger friend in a voice that only he could hear. "I think that whoever it is knows that you're the one who has it."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the night when by uneventfully. Ben and Riley were soon allowed to leave the funeral home, and they drove back to the house as soon as possible. The younger man immediately fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow since he knew Sadusky was working hard to prove that he was innocent, but there was too much on Ben's mind to allow him to sleep. Something was different about the murder of Andy, but he just couldn't place what. So, he just lay awake in bed until the night was over, merely listening to his wife's calming breathing.

Riley wasn't very talkative when morning rolled around, which deeply concerned both Ben and Abigail. When the techie wasn't making a snappy, sarcastic comment, something was definitely wrong.

"Is everything all right, Riley?" Abigail asked, sitting down beside him on the couch in the living room.

"My dad's funeral is tomorrow, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it," Riley answered quietly, not looking back at her. "It's just…"

Abigail smiled sadly and gave him a hug when he couldn't finish his sentence, putting her head on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "You'll be all right, Riley," she muttered soothingly. "Ben and I will be with you the entire time. You will not be alone."

Riley placed his forehead against her blonde head, trying to suppress the tears that were forming in his eyes. "Thank you, Abi," he whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Hey, Riley. Did you want to go to the museum today?" Ben asked, coming into the living room at that moment. "We could search for the clue that could lead us to the treasure the riddle was speaking of."

"Treasure?" Riley said, looking back at the older man.

"Yeah, don't you remember?" Ben replied, sitting down on Riley's other side on the couch as his wife released him from her hug. "The riddle ended with, 'not the key, but a clue to lead you to a treasure true'. Your dad clearly wanted you to find something."

"What he left isn't the way to find the treasure," Abigail added. "It's a clue to find a way to find the treasure."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Isn't that the way it always is with us?" he muttered sarcastically. "Here's a clue. Now good luck."

Ben ignored the comment. "I made photocopies of the riddle so we can all have one without bringing the original with us," he said, handing one to Riley and one to Abigail. "This could help us track down what we're looking for."

"Which is what exactly?" Riley asked slowly.

"Well, some kind of clue that will lead us to the key to the treasure your dad believes you were meant to find," Ben answered. "You know, it could be anything."

"Oh joy," Riley said while Abigail got to her feet to find a hair tie to keep her hair back so she would be cooler in the summer's heat. "We're going to search the entire, three-story museum for a needle in a haystack. Better bring a camera."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right, guys. Where should we start first?" Riley asked with mock enthusiasm. "How about the dinosaurs? Or ancient Egypt? Or how about African animals? Or Australian animals? Or animals of the Artic Tundra? Or even animals of the rainforest. Or underwater animals maybe? Okay… how about just animals in general… Oh, I know. How about-!"

"Okay, Riley. We get your point," Abigail muttered in annoyance. "It will take us a long time to find anything, if anything at all."

Ben smiled a little. Riley always knew just how to bring Abigail to the point of insanity, and vice versa. He would laugh if the situation wasn't so pressing. "We'll split up," he told them. "Abigail, you take the first floor, and Riley, you take the second. I'll take the third. We all have our cell phones on us, so make sure you call or text if you find anything."

"But, Ben. Some of the exhibits say that you can't use cell phones," Riley said. His dad had always taken him and Dustin to the museum when they were growing up. He knew all of the rules and even knew the building like the back of his hand… which may actually come in handy.

"Well, find a way around it. You've broken worse rules before," Ben replied. "I know this riddle doesn't specifically tell us what we're looking for, but look for _something_ that stands out to you. Remember, we're searching for something that will lead us to the key to finding a treasure."

Abigail nodded. "Good luck, everyone."

"Yeah. Good luck," Riley muttered, watching as Abigail began to walk toward the ancient Greece exhibit while Ben started up the escalator that went to the third floor. He sighed to himself, going to the escalator that only took him one floor up. This was going to be nearly impossible.

**A/N**: I was going to have them looking around the museum in this chapter, but then realized that it was getting too long. So, it'll be in the next one. Hope you liked it! Thank you for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: Do I need one anymore? I don't own anything from the movie. Everything else is mine.

**A/N**: Ha! For once, winter was helpful. We had a snow day today (no school!!!!!!!!!!), and if this wouldn't have happened, then I wouldn't have been able to update until sometime next week. So, yay for snow! Even though I had to avoid snowplows to bring you this update… Trust me, it takes skill. Lol! I was also listening to songs from the musical Sweeney Todd when I wrote this chapter, which surprisingly helped it along. Who knew Johnny Depp could sing? All right, anyway… Thank you to **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Supernaturalfreakisabookworm**, **daisyduke80**, **Thuraya Known**, **fantomfairy**, **Harm Marie**, **Miss Fenway**, **Halo** (I put something in here that you will like!), and **Majestik Moose** for your wonderful reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6

Abigail loved ancient Greece, which was the reason that she began with that exhibit. She had studied the subject since she was in high school and was anxious to see how the museum portrayed it. She had only been to the museum once before, but she had never seen this exhibit. It must have been new. Abigail studied the riddle carefully as she moved through the hall with the statues of the ancient gods and goddesses in it, pretending to be looking at her copy of the museum map. Though she knew what the words meant, she had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for. She stopped briefly to inspect what could possibly be an early manuscript of Homer's _Iliad_ before moving on to leave the exhibit.

Her mind was suddenly captured when she entered a maze that resembled one in ancient Greek lore that was believed to hold a Minotaur at one of the dead ends. Abigail smiled as she moved through it, trying to find her way. What a clever way to make the exit of the exhibit. She wasn't scared, but she could see how the high, cracked stone walls could be intimidating to an unfortunate ancient Greek that had to go through.

She rounded a corner and gasped with surprise, but then laughed aloud when she saw the dominant statue of a convincing Minotaur. If this was the real thing back in ancient times, Abigail knew that she would be killed on the spot. With the excited smile still on her face, she turned around to find the actual way out.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben sighed as he moved past the statues of buffalos as they raced across the sandy plains, having the feeling that he wasn't going to find any sort of clue in this exhibit. Why did he have to choose the floor with all of the animals on it? His bored mind then wondered how Riley and Abigail were doing.

Then, he noticed that an older boy was picking on a younger one as they stood in front of the same exhibit he was, and an idea came to him. Right behind the last buffalo in the stampede, and right in front of the boys, was a fake curled up rattlesnake. He remembered that whenever his dad would bring him to the museum, he would find the "secret" button and push it, making the snake's tail rattle and scare anyone standing near it. He might as well not break the tradition while he was here.

Ben walked over to the edge of the exhibit where a plastic rock formation was. He sat on the bench beside it, watching the boys and waiting for the right moment to push the button.

The younger boy finally seemed to be tired of the older boy's teasing, and he angrily slammed his hand down on the metal bar that went around the exhibit. As soon as this happened, Ben pushed the button.

The older boy stepped back in and cried out in surprise when the rattlesnake's tail sounded while the younger smirked with satisfaction. Then, a woman came up to them with a bunch more kids behind her and scolded them from leaving the group. The older boy followed her, sulking, but the younger one turned to face Ben. Seeming to know that he was the one who had made the rattlesnake move, he smiled in a thankful gesture before following the group. Ben laughed a little as he got to his feet and looked at the map, seeing what the next exhibit was going to be. Great. Animals of the deep.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley stood before the entrances of two exhibits, one he knew, though they didn't have signs, that led to the dinosaurs and the other to ancient Egypt. Out of all the exhibits on the second floor, he had narrowed it down to these two. Why? Because the dinosaur exhibit had been his favorite when he was a kid, and his dad loved the ancient Egypt exhibit. If he had left behind some secret clue, Riley knew there was a good chance that it was in one of these two.

Taking a deep breath, the techie walked into the dinosaur exhibit. What it basically was was a curing, dimly lit hall with life-size dinosaur statues on both sides at unequal increments. If a person stepped right in front of one, a light on the ceiling would fall on the dinosaur, and it would make a noise, the one that the dinosaur most likely would have made if it was alive. It was a very fun exhibit.

Riley smiled when the Velociraptor lit up on his left, making its shrieking call like in the Jurassic Park movies, while a young kid lit up the Tyrannosaurus Rex behind him and making it roar. Moving on and ignoring the majority of the rest of the dinosaurs as he studied the riddle, he soon made it out of the exhibit without finding anything. Like he knew what he was looking for anyway… But that only left him with one more option. The ancient Egypt exhibit.

He sighed, mentally preparing himself for the memories to come flooding back to him as he stepped into the hall. Moving through the sand, irritated when it got in his sandals and in-between his toes, Riley went up to the side wall of the accurate-looking pyramid and went through the small doorway, quickly descending the stone steps.

He found himself in a cool, stuffy room with nothing in it except for a few bricks that were supposed to resemble the real thing. Wondering if he was actually going to find anything in this exhibit, Riley moved through the small, narrow hallways he knew so well that led to the Pharaoh's burial chamber. He had never been fond of this exhibit since it was so closed and cramped, and he remembered the time he had gotten lost inside of it when he was a young kid. He waited inside of one of the small side rooms for an entire, panic-filled hour until the museum security finally found him and carried him back to his father. That was how he had developed his mild claustrophobia.

Soon, he entered the larger room that was designed to recreate the burial chamber where all of the Pharaohs were buried, the only thing that was out of place being the glowing red exit sign above the a door that led out of the exhibit. Riley's eyes traveled around the room as a group of people entered, moving from displayed jewelry and perfumes to the real preserved mummy in the corner, and finally to the Hieroglyphics wall.

Riley slowly wandered over to the wall with tons of Hieroglyphics, smiling as he looked at all of the different symbols. He had some knowledge of the ancient language, such as the fact that rulers and gods and goddesses had their own symbol that represented them. He wished that _he_ ruled a country and got _his_ own letter in the alphabet…

Then, his eyes widened in surprise when they landed on a symbol he knew wasn't ancient Egyptian. Someone with an untrained eye wouldn't have noticed it and would have probably passed right over it, but he knew this symbol well. It was smaller than the rest of the Hieroglyphics and a little off to the side, but much more detailed. Riley stepped closer to the wall and knelt down, starting at the hawk holding a goblet in one hand and a sword in the other that was toward the bottom of the wall. It was the crest of his ancestors. He looked down and saw that the same symbol was in the upper right hand corner of the riddle that Ben had photocopied for him.

The techie quickly took out his cell phone and flipped it open, setting the camera and hurriedly taking a picture of the symbol before anyone noticed. He knew deep in his heart that this was the clue, not only because he knew his dad so well but also because the man who was in charge of building this exhibit, Daniel Richards, was a good friend of his dad's. This was it.

He quickly stood up, knowing that he had to tell Ben and Abigail about his discovery, but he bumped into someone in his haste. Riley turned around immediately while muttering an apology, but he stopped in surprise when he recognized the blond-haired man. "Nick? What are you doing here?" he asked when he saw his brother's best friend. "I thought you hated museums."

"Just looking," Nick answered casually with a shrug. "Same as you I would expect."

Riley nodded, knowing that wasn't exactly the case. Nick wasn't looking for what he was. "Well, it was nice seeing you, but I should probably get going," he told him. "I have some people to meet."

"All right. See you later, Ri."

_"I hate that name,"_ Riley thought to himself as he quickly moved to the door with the glowing red exit sign above it and left the exhibit, feeling Nick's eyes on his back intently_. "Why must he and Dustin call me that?"_ He knew that his brother hadn't called him that hated nickname recently, but he had all the time while they were growing up. He remembered asking him one day if he would like it if he called him Dust. That hadn't settled too well…

When he was out of the exhibit, Riley sat down on the bench and took out his cell phone again. He quickly dialed Ben's cell number, hoping that he wasn't in an exhibit as a group of kids on a school field trip stopped right in front of him. To his relief, his friend soon picked up.

_"Riley, what is it?"_ Ben's voice sounded distant on the other end.

"I found something," Riley answered, having to talk a little louder because of the large group of kids in front of him. Noisy kids…

_"Really? What?"_

"I'll tell you when I see you in person," Riley replied, his eyes darting around him for a sign of someone who could overhear him, especially Nick. "Grab Abi and meet me in the café on the first floor. We can all have lunch or something."

"All right. I'll see you there in five to ten minutes," Ben replied.

"See you then." Riley flipped his cell phone closed, ending the call. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't understand why he was feeling so wary about Nick. He had known him for a long time since Dustin had been friends with him since middle school, and out of all of his brother's friends, Nick was the one who had always been nice to him. Everyone else regarded him simply as "Dustin's annoying kid brother". But something felt off about Nick, he just didn't know what. Then, knowing that he should probably meet Ben, he got to his feet and went down the escalator to head to the café.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right, so what did you find?" Ben asked as he took a sip of his soda.

"It was in the ancient Egypt exhibit," Riley answered, taking a bite of his sandwich before he took out his cell phone to find the picture. "Here you go."

He, Ben, and Abigail were sitting at a small table in the café that Riley had suggested for lunch, but the younger man was the only one that could truthfully be considered to be "eating lunch". Riley had two ham and cheese sandwiches, a small cup of soup, chips, and a soda. Ben had chips and a soda, and Abigail only had a cup of hot tea, snagging a chip from Ben every once in a while. Abigail had mentioned her surprise more than once about how Riley could eat so much and not gain a pound. She soon declared that it was not humanly possible and officially named him to be an alien from Jupiter.

Ben took the cell phone his best friend was offering him and looked at the small picture that he had taken on the Hieroglyphics wall. He then took out his museum map and the riddle, seeing that the same symbol was on the photocopied paper. "I think you're on to something, Riley…"

"It was on a wall filled with Hieroglyphics," Riley continued, unwrapping his second sandwich since he had finished his first one. "The average person wouldn't notice it unless they knew they were looking for it. It's blended in so well."

"I've been to the ancient Egypt exhibit once when I was young," Ben muttered as he handed Riley back his phone. "I remember the Hieroglyphics wall. There has to be something behind that symbol since I don't think the wall itself is the clue, but we'll have to get a better look at it when there's no one else around."

Riley cringed when he heard the statement. "Does that mean that we have to do something that's not exactly legal?" he asked quietly so no one else in the café would hear him.

Ben nodded. "Yes, Riley. It does," he answered so quietly that Riley and Abigail had to lean forward on the table to hear him. "If we want to find that clue… we'll have to break into the museum."

**A/N**: Okay, I know that was kind of a short chapter, but it was important. The next one should be longer. I already have a lot planned for it. And FYI, the rattlesnake button mentioned toward the beginning of the chapter does exist at a museum close to me. My friend and I have pushed it so many times! Every time we go there as a matter of fact. Also, the part where Riley is looking at the Hieroglyphics and wishing that he could rule a country and get his own letter in the alphabet is not mine either. That is in the special feature "Riley's Decode-It Game" on the National Treasure DVD. Play it if you haven't. Even though it's set for younger kids, it's very amusing! At least to me. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing from National Treasure (dang…). I also do not own Aerosmith or Van Halen.

**A/N**: I know it's really fast, but here's the next update. I also understand that not all of you have been able to review my last chapter, but feel free to review both! Just kidding. You don't have to if you don't want to. But I love reviews! So, thank you to everyone that has been reviewing! I love them all. Hope you enjoy this next chapter, everyone!

**Note**: This chapter is long and angst-filled, so have a Kleenex box near you or something. Still, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7

Neither Riley or Abigail were thrilled with the idea of going through with Ben's proposed plan of breaking into the museum at night, but their curiosity of finding the clue overpowered their doubt. The treasure hunter had first suggested they do it that night, but Riley, with surprising support from Abigail, declined since the funeral for his dad was the next day and he needed all the rest that he could get. Ben then tried the next night after the funeral, and Riley, knowing that he would have to do something to get his mind off of the event, agreed.

That night, Ben woke up and heard the sound of typing keys on a computer. Confused, he sat up in bed and saw that it was almost three in the morning. What was that noise?

Then, he sighed. Knowing what it was, Ben carefully climbed out of bed so he wouldn't wake the still sleeping Abigail and quietly left the room, going across the hall to the open door. Looking inside the room, he saw Riley sitting up in bed with his glasses on and typing on his laptop.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? We have a long day ahead of us."

Riley jumped when he heard the sudden voice, but he relaxed when he realized that it was Ben. "Do you always sneak up on people this early in the morning?" he asked, turning his attention back to his laptop. "It's called knocking."

"Do you always go on your laptop this early in the morning?" Ben countered in a joking way, though his voice was full of concern. "It's called telling your best friend what's wrong."

The techie smiled and shook his head. Ben always seemed to mimic him when he wanted something from him. Clever… "To tell you the truth, I feel sick to my stomach, which is what woke me up," Riley told him, not meeting his eyes. "I don't want to risk being sick, so I'm not laying down. This way, I can get up faster if I should have to… you know…"

Ben noticed with concern in the light coming from the computer screen that the younger man did look a lot paler than normal. Without saying a word, he left the doorway and went downstairs to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of white soda and a glass from the cabinet. Pouring the soda into the cup and putting the bottle back into the refrigerator, Ben went back up the stairs and entered Riley's room. "Here, drink this," he told his friend, knowing that the white soda would help settle his violent stomach.

"This isn't anything that will make me sleep, is it?" Riley asked, skeptically looking at the glass in Ben's hand. Sleeping wasn't something that he wanted to do…

"No. It's just plain soda," Ben answered. "It will settle your stomach some."

Satisfied, Riley took the glass from him and took a small sip, cringing a little as it went down his rough throat. He took one more drink before setting it down on the nightstand beside the bed.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" Ben wondered, sitting down on the bed beside Riley to try to look at the laptop.

Riley glanced at him. "I'm checking out floor plans of the museum and monitoring security at times throughout the night," he explained. "This way, I can determine what time would be the best for our little adventure tomorrow night."

Ben watched as the computer whiz effortlessly moved through the program. "Is this legal?" he muttered, keeping his voice low so that Abigail wouldn't hear him in case she was wakeful.

A grin spread across Riley's face. "Questionably."

"Have you figured out anything?" Ben said as a smile appeared on his own face.

"Yes, I have," Riley told him proudly. "I have figured out what time we should enter the museum."

"Which is?"

"The magic time that security is at its lowest is a quarter after three in the morning," Riley explained. "There's only one guard assigned to that shift at that time. The rest of the five guards return at half past three. That gives us fifteen minutes to investigate the wall, get whatever the clue is if it's truly there, and escape before security is at its highest."

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "That should be enough time," he muttered. "We've been in worse situations where we've had to steal something before."

"Yeah, like the Declaration of Independence," Riley agreed with a smile. "How do you think Abi will handle us breaking into the museum without her?" He had caught his best friend's silent message in his statement.

The treasure hunter sighed. "Not well," he confessed. "Let's just hope that our own funerals aren't anytime soon."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben drove down the small street in silence, looking for the church that they were supposed to be at. He was uncomfortable in his heavy tuxedo in the summer's heat, but he tried his best to ignore it. Abigail sat in the passenger seat beside him, wearing a black skirt that fell to her knees and a black sleeveless shirt. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun in an attempt to make herself cooler. Riley sat in the back seat in an equally uncomfortable tuxedo as Ben, but he wasn't complaining as he normally did. His mind was on other things, and he was listening to Aerosmith on his iPod to try to forget about the things he was thinking about.

They were going to his father's funeral. It didn't even feel real to him…

Ben finally pulled into the parking lot of the church, seeing that there were around ten cars already there. Riley had mentioned to him that the funeral wasn't going to be very big, and he wondered how many people were actually going to be there.

Tired of being told how jaded he was by Steve Tyler, Riley turned off his iPod and hid it under the seat of Ben's car before he joined the treasure hunter and his wife as they entered the church. The techie slowed as he entered the main hall, hesitant to enter the sanctuary before it was necessary. He couldn't enter it… not now…

Abigail noticed his hesitation, and she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his. "Come here, Riley," she said soothingly, guiding him over to the staircase that led up to the balcony and sitting him down on the third step. "Are you all right?"

"I can't do this, Abi," Riley muttered anxiously, rubbing his hand over his sweat-drenched face as he felt panicked tears form in his eyes. "I can't…"

"Shh… Of course you can," Abigail replied gently, sitting on the step above him and begging to massage his shoulders. She was alarmed to feel how tense he was. "You just need to relax. Everything will be all right. I'm here for you. Ben's here for you. We both are."

"Did you get special training in massaging?" Riley asked in an attempt as a joke, though he felt himself beginning to relax more by the minute.

Abigail smiled. "Nice try, Kid, but that's not going to get you on my good side," she answered. "My mom taught me."

"Well then she's a professional."

Ben walked over to where Riley and Abigail were sitting, a small but sad smile on his face. "You know, Riley, your father's not in the sanctuary yet," he said. "He's in a side room where, shortly before the service, the family will be able to view him. Then, he's moved into the sanctuary when the service is held."

"Was that supposed to make him feel better?" Abigail whispered when Riley took a sharp, shuddering breath.

"That was my intent."

Abigail rolled her eyes as she continued to massage Riley's shoulders.

The door to the church opened again and Dustin entered, wearing a tuxedo as well. Nick was with him along with a beautiful red-haired girl that Ben assumed was Riley's brother's girlfriend. An older couple came out of the sanctuary, the woman hugging Dustin while the man clasped him on the shoulder. The older Poole nodded to them in a thankful manner, and then he went into the sanctuary with Nick and the girl after the two of them had signed a book beside the door.

"I think we're supposed to sign that," Ben muttered.

Abigail nodded in agreement. "We'll be right back, Riley," she told the younger man before following her husband to sing the guest book.

Riley watched them leave, sighing to himself. The same couple that had greeted Dustin so warmly came over to him, claiming that they hadn't seen him hiding on the staircase. Riley gratefully moved into his aunt's loving embrace and was thankful for his uncle's warm, supporting hand. But then, he felt cold and empty as soon as they were gone.

The door to the church opened again, and the techie blinked in surprise when he saw who entered. "Patrick? Emily?" he asked, rising to his feet as he watched Ben hug his parents and as Abigail did the same before the older couple signed the guest book.

Emily heard him first after she signed her name. "Oh, Riley. How are you, dear?" she muttered, hurrying over to him and hugging him tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Riley wondered when she didn't release him. "I mean, how did you know…"

"Ben called us, Kiddo," Patrick explained, joining them with Ben and Abigail behind him as he placed his hand on Riley's back. "We figured you would need all of the support you could get."

Riley felt fresh tears rise up to his eyes from the kindness of Ben's parents, and he buried his face into Emily's shoulder, grateful that she was there. Emily tightened her arms around him, and Patrick began to rub his back.

Ben turned around when the door opened again, and he was caught off guard by who entered. "Agent Sadusky?"

"Hello, Ben," the FBI agent said, signing his name to the guest book after Patrick's.

Riley raised his head off of Emily's shoulder when he heard the agent's voice, wiping away the silent tears that had fallen from his eyes as he looked at him nervously. But surprisingly, Sadusky smiled.

"Relax, Riley. I'm not here to arrest you," he muttered, putting his hands in the air to prove it. "I'm here only for your father's funeral."

After a moment, a smile appeared on Riley's face as he nodded. "Thank you, Sadusky." He was grateful that he was with people he knew, the people that were closest to him. Otherwise, he would never make it through the funeral.

Then, the pastor of the church entered the hall, saying that all people not related to Jeremy Poole were to sit in the sanctuary while all of his family members were to come with him for the final viewing. Abigail squeezed Riley's hand reassuringly, struggling to hold back her tears as she went with Sadusky into the sanctuary. Emily kissed him on the cheek, sniffing as she followed them. Ben sighed as he looked at his best friend. He shouldn't have to be alone.

"I'm not leaving him, Dad," he muttered.

Surprisingly, Patrick nodded. "Neither will I, Son," he agreed, placing his hand on Ben's shoulder. "He can't go on his own. Luckily I had you when my father died. He needs someone."

Ben considered his father's words for only a moment, then rushed forward with Patrick and fell into place on either side of Riley. The younger man was noticeably confused. "What are you guys doing?" he asked quietly. "You're not my family."

"If you keep your big mouth shut we are," Ben whispered in answer. "Now shush."

Still confused, Riley stepped inside the room the pastor had led them to, but stopped when he saw the open coffin. Patrick and Ben put their hands on his shoulders and urged him along, putting him in the line behind Dustin before they went to stand against the wall.

Ben kept his eyes on the family, but particularly on Riley, as they each took turns standing by the coffin, giving their farewells. Some cried, some kissed Jeremy Poole's forehead, and some merely stood before him silently without doing anything. Dustin soon came to the coffin, gently touching his father's cold, lifeless hand before quickly leaving. Then, it was the younger Poole's turn.

Riley slowly approached the coffin, his eyes widening when they landed on his father's body. Suddenly, seeing him lying before him lifelessly, the reality of his father's death came crashing down on him. A hand flew to his chest as pain erupted inside of it, and his other hand flew out wildly to try to find something to support him. His lungs felt as though they were being crushed- he was struggling to breathe. A feeling of immense dizziness came over him as tears flowed freely from his eyes and every inch of him trembled. He was going to be sick. He was going to fall. He was going to pass out. He needed air…

Seeing his best friend break down broke Ben's heart. He took a step forward to get to him, but Patrick put his hand on his arm to stop him. "I'll handle this," he muttered, moving past his son and approaching Riley. He gently took Riley's arms and pulled the younger man up against him, having to support him as he led him away from the coffin and out of the room. Ben noticed out of the corner of his eye that Dustin was watching his brother leave, a mixture of guilt and concern in his cold, gray eyes. Then, the older Poole sighed heavily as he put his hand over his eyes and sat down weakly in a chair.

Patrick led a stumbling Riley down the hall and into the lobby, sitting him down on the couch before he collapsed and immediately sat down beside him. The younger man shook as he sobbed, and Patrick pulled him close to him. "It's all right, Riley," he said in a comforting manner, rubbing his back. "Come on. Settle down now. It's all right. Try to calm your breathing, Kiddo. Come on."

The two of them sat that way for a few agonizing moments. Soon, Riley began to calm down, and Patrick smiled at him warmly when he finally looked up. "There. See, Kiddo? You're all right."

"I'm sorry about that, Patrick," Riley muttered quietly, rubbing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to… to lose it like that…"

Patrick sighed. "Don't apologize to me for being human, Riley," he told him. "You loved your father. You were very close to him. I understand exactly what you're going through. I remember the pain when I saw my father in his coffin. That's always when the reality sets in. I cried too. But I had Ben, and that helped."

Riley sighed. "Did it feel like you were being stabbed through the heart and you were being torn apart from the inside out?" he asked without feeling.

"Yes. It did," Patrick answered quietly with a nod. "Just remember that you aren't alone, Riley. You're not alone."

The younger man was instantly relieved that Patrick was there with him. He was someone that he could relate to, someone who understood the pain he was going through. Then, Riley gasped quietly when Patrick pulled him close to him again, and he laid his head on the older man's shoulder. He was grateful for his support.

Then, Ben entered the lobby, carrying a bottle of water. "The service is going to start shortly," he said, kneeling on the floor beside the couch and handing Riley the water. "Are you all right, Riley? Do you feel ready?"

Riley took a few gulps of the water that Ben had given him, sighing with relief when it cleared his head a little and made him feel a bit better. He looked at Patrick, who nodded to him reassuringly. Then, he met Ben's gaze. With them, he would be all right.

"I'm ready."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The funeral service felt as though it was dragging on forever. Riley seemed to be lifeless, not reacting to anything around him as his blank eyes stayed glued to the closed coffin that his father was lying in. Ben kept glancing at his best friend nervously while Abigail stroked the younger man's hand with her thumb, tears falling from her eyes. Emily placed her hand on his leg in a comforting manner, and Patrick kept a watchful eye on him. Sadusky sat in the pew behind them, setting his hand gently on Riley's shoulder in a supporting gesture. Dustin looked at his brother from across the aisle, Nick sitting sadly beside him while the red-haired girl cried against the older Poole's shoulder.

When the service finally drew to a close, everyone assembled rose and left the church, heading to the graveyard behind it. Riley stood at the edge of the grave with Abigail clinging to his arm, Ben standing close to his other side, and Patrick, Emily, and Agent Sadusky standing right behind him. The techie was relieved that the people who cared most about him surrounded him, or otherwise he would not have made it through the burial. Dustin stood across the grave from him with Nick and his girlfriend, his cold eyes on Riley. He hated to admit it, but he was actually feeling slightly concerned. The kid looked like he was going to pass out.

After the coffin was all of the way in the ground and final prayers and farewells were said, Riley found himself sitting in the back of Ben's car again. With relief, he knew that they were driving away from the church. This had definitely been the longest day of his life.

"You don't want to go to the lunch with your family, Riley?" Ben asked, glancing back at the younger man in his rearview mirror with concern.

"Not really, Ben, no," Riley muttered in answer as he laid his head against the window and closed his eyes after he grabbed his iPod out from under the car seat. "I would prefer to have pizza with just you guys."

Ben smiled and laughed a little. "All right, Riley. Pizza it is, then."

"We should probably change clothes first, honey," Abigail commented with a smile of her own as she looked at her husband. "It would be strange if we walked into a pizzeria dressed like this."

"I hate to admit this, but Abi's got a point," Riley said, turning on his iPod and listening to Van Halen. "Can we stop at my apartment quickly so I can grab a change of clothes, Ben?"

"Sure," Ben replied, turning on to another street that led toward the techie's apartment. It didn't take long to get there, and Ben parked in the closest spot, other than the handicap one, to the building. Riley climbed out of the car, and so did the treasure hunter.

"You don't have to come with me, Ben," Riley said as he walked toward the front door.

"I know."

"Geeze, you're impossible."

"I know."

Riley shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face despite himself as he climbed the stairs up the second floor with his best friend. Truthfully, he was glad that Ben was with him.

They stopped in front of his door, and Riley began to search for his keys. Ben's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he stopped the younger man. "What, Ben?"

"There's tape on the door," Ben muttered quietly, gesturing to where the door handle was. "Your lock's been picked."

Riley's face instantly drained of color. "Does that mean someone broke in?" he asked in a shaky whisper.

Ben nodded in silent answer.

The younger man swore under his breath. "All my technological stuff is in there," Riley said, pushing open the door even though his friend tried to stop him.

They both cautiously entered the apartment, seeing that papers and books littered the living room floor. But to Riley's immense relief, all of his expensive technological equipment was still there.

"Was anything of value taken?" Ben asked as he cautiously checked the bathroom and Riley's bedroom to see if anyone was still in the apartment besides them. "Money? Your stuff?"

"No," Riley answered with confusion from the living room as he opened a drawer on his desk that most of the papers on the floor had come from. Then, he froze. "Just…"

"Just what?" Ben joined Riley by the desk, seeing the deep confusion on his face. "Riley?"

The younger man looked up and met the treasure hunter's gaze. "All that's missing is a couple of maps from the museum."

**A/N**: The suspense is rising. Find out more of what happened in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: Just look at previous chapters to know that I don't own anyone!

**A/N**: AH!!!!!!!!!!! 60 reviews! I can't believe this story has taken off so much. You guys are the best! I'm also sick, so seeing all of these reviews really helped! Thank you sooooooo much! From the weather that we're having right now, it appears that we will have another snow day tomorrow, so I may be able to update tomorrow also. But, just in case, I bring you another long chapter. Thank you so incredibly much to **fantomfairy**, **Supernaturalfreakisabookworm**, **PropheticIllusion**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Fenway**, **Majestik Moose**, **Harm Marie**, **angel-death-dealer**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Lo**, and last but not least **Halo** for your wonderful reviews. I feel better already. Hopefully this chapter will make you laugh but also provide some excitement after that emotional rollercoaster of a chapter I posted. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Upon the urging of Ben, Riley called the police to report the break-in even though nothing of value had been taken. Officers arrived at about a half hour later to search the apartment for evidence since it wasn't an emergency. A very concerned Abigail had come up soon after they had made the discovery since Ben had called her cell phone.

"I'm sorry that this had to happen to you, Riley," Sadusky said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "You've had a rough day with your father's funeral and all, and now this. It's not even one in the afternoon yet. What next?"

"This really isn't that bad, Sadusky," Riley muttered. "I mean, nothing I care about was taken, even tough this is robber Heaven because of all the technology."

"And none of that was taken?" Sadusky asked in disbelief.

"No, none at all. No batteries, no wires. Nothing."

"What was taken?"

"Just a couple of maps for the museum downtown."

Sadusky shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense…" Then, he patted Riley on the back and got to his feet when he was called over by a couple of the officers that were with him, telling him that they couldn't find anything that would give them a suspect.

"Ben, you know what happened here, don't you?" Riley quietly said to his best friend. "Whoever was in here had to be looking for the envelope. That's why nothing else was taken."

"Then it must be the same person who killed Andy and Cathy," Ben muttered. "They just don't know that you're staying with me. The riddle will be useless anyway. We've already found out where the clue is."

Riley suddenly looked at him nervously. "In the museum."

Ben instantly caught on to what his best friend was saying. "That's why the museum maps were taken."

"We have to get there as soon as possible for the clue, Ben."

"I know. We will."

Sadusky glanced behind him, catching some of their conversation. He knew then that Riley and Ben knew more than they were letting on. Then, he saw that the treasure hunter had met his gaze and was staring at him intently.

"Go and grab a change of clothes, Riley," Ben said without averting his gaze from the agent's. "Then we'll get out of here."

Xxxxxxxxxx

After Riley, Ben, and Abigail changed their clothes at the Gates' estate, the three friends drove to the nearby pizzeria to have lunch. They entered the crowded building, surprised to see that the red-haired girl from the funeral was standing behind the counter. She smiled politely when she saw Riley.

"Hey, Kiddo. You and your friends can have a seat. Be with you in a moment."

"Thanks, Kristi." Riley found an available table and sat down, Ben and Abigail following. "So, what should we get on our pizza, guys?"

"Anything but anchovies," Abigail said, looking over the menu. "I hate anchovies…"

"Fine with me," Riley muttered, looking at the menu as well. "We should probably get a family size since there's three of us…"

"So, that would automatically require a family size?" Abigail asked. "Will we eat it all?"

Ben glanced at his wife. "It's Riley we're talking about," he said.

"True."

Riley pretended to look offended. "Hey. I don't eat _that_ much," he said, a hurt expression on his face.

Abigail grinned. "Sure you don't."

"Have we figured out our toppings yet?" Ben intervened before the friendly banter could turn ugly.

His wife sighed. "No. The only thing we've decided is that we don't want anchovies," she answered.

"How about sausage and pepperoni?" Riley suggested. "Everyone likes sausage and pepperoni."

"I'm not too fond of pepperoni," Abigail replied, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. "Not that you care anyway…"

Riley also leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You're right. I don't," he told her. "Then you can just give me your pepperoni. Deal?"

Abigail smirked. "Deal. How does sausage and pepperoni sound to you, Ben?"

"Great," Ben said with a smile. "Sausage and pepperoni is my favorite."

Riley grinned triumphantly. "Awesome. You rock, Ben."

The three waited for a few more minutes before Kristi came to their table, carrying a notepad. "All set? What can I get for ya', Ri?"

The techie took a deep breath at the sound of the hated nickname as he looked up at his brother's girlfriend. "We would like a family size sausage and pepperoni please," he ordered. "Oh, and three medium Pepsis."

"All right," Kristi muttered as she wrote it down on the pad. "You're not going to the dinner for the family?"

"No, I don't think that I could handle it," Riley told her truthfully. "So instead, I went out for pizza with my two best, not to mention rich, friends."

Kristi laughed a little. "I would have gone, but I had to work," she replied. "Dustin and Nick are there though. Oh, and ignore the price on the menu. You get the cute little brother discount." She winked.

Riley blinked in surprise. "Are you serious?" he called after her as she walked away. He had eaten here many times and had never gotten the cute little brother discount. "You rock, Kristi!"

Ben pretended to be hurt. "I thought you said I rocked."

The techie sighed. "Ben, do me a favor and never say that word again," Riley muttered, acting ashamed. "It just doesn't work coming from you."

"So what is this that she called you?" Abigail said teasingly. "_Ri_?"

Riley glared daggers at her. "Call me that one more time, and I will make your life a living he-!"

"We didn't say we wanted soda, Riley," Ben interrupted before the word could be finished, clearing his throat. "Why did you order Pepsis?"

"Well, because you can't have pizza without something to drink, you both like Pepsi, and I'm thirsty," Riley told him as though it was obvious. "Also, you're rich, so I figured that you could pay a little extra. Then again, we're not paying full price since we get the cute little brother discount."

Ben laughed a little as he shook his head. "You're just lucky that I'm feeling sorry for you, Kid," he said. "You're really beginning to push it."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Sure, that's why you're being so nice. You feel sorry for me."

"Yeah, that's about right."

"Ha. I love you too, Ben."

Abigail looked from Ben to Riley and back. "So, do we have any plans for the museum tonight?" she asked quietly. "A time or something?"

"Yeah, Riley and I do," Ben answered just as quietly. "Not you."

Riley sighed and gave his best friend the oh-boy-here-we-go-again eye roll.

"_What_?!" Abigail hissed angrily, glaring at her husband. "What do you mean not me? I'm going with you."

"No, you're not," Ben told her sternly. "It's too risky. Besides, Riley and I have worked together on something like this before."

"Sure. Drag _me_ into the argument," Riley muttered with mock enthusiasm, pouring a little salt on the table and trying to balance the saltshaker on it.

"Benjamin Gates, I am a part of this family," Abigail said. "I'm going with you."

"Abigail Gates, no you are not coming with us," Ben replied. "I already told you that it's too dangerous."

"Riley Poole gets to go," Riley put in cheerfully, attempting to break up the argument. Abigail glared at him.

"Shut up, Riley."

"Stop complaining, Mean Declaration Lady."

"Keep your smart mouth shut, Ri."

"Shut up, Abi."

"Both of you shut up," Ben whispered angrily as Kristi approached their table with the pizza and sodas.

"There you go. Is there anything else I can get for ya'?" she asked.

"No thanks, Kristi. We're good," Riley answered. "You will get a tip from the cute little brother."

Kristi smiled and ruffled his hair a little before walking away to take another table's order. Ben and Abigail both reached for a piece of the pizza, which ended up being the same one, and the treasure hunter's hand ended up on top of his wife's.

"You are not going, and that is my final answer," Ben told her, taking another piece of pizza.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"I thought you said, in exact words, 'you are not going, and that is my final answer,' Ben," Riley muttered from the back seat of his best friend's car.

"I did," Ben said quietly, not looking back at him as he drove down the empty road. "Is it my fault that she threatened to call my dad and ruin our one chance at seeing what your father left behind?"

Riley rolled his eyes. "You know, I thought that a man's wife was supposed to _obey_ her husband," he commented, stressing the dreaded four-letter word.

"Well, she never actually said that in the wedding vow…"

Abigail smiled innocently from the passenger seat. "You make everything sound so dramatic, dear," she told him sweetly.

"I'm still mad at you," Ben replied firmly without falling for her kindness act. "I'm not talking to you."

Riley sighed. "You just did talk to her, Ben." His best friend was hopeless.

Ben swore under his breath, and Riley's eyes widened. "Did I just hear a naughty word come out of the mouth of Benjamin Franklin Gates?" he muttered in awe.

Abigail nodded. "I think you did. That's what I heard…"

"You know, I can just drop both of you off at the next street corner and go to the museum on my own," Ben told them with irritation.

Riley laughed. "Nice try, Ben, but you need me," he said with a triumphant smile. "I am the only one who knows exactly where that clue is, and if you want to get in and out of the museum as quickly as possible, you need me with you." Then, his smile turned into a smirk. "You can drop her off, though," he added in an afterthought, gesturing to Abigail with his head.

"If you do that, your father will be getting a call at," Abigail muttered, looking at the car's electric blue clock, "three in the morning. I don't think he'd be pleased about that, Ben."

The treasure hunter sighed in defeat. "All right. Can we just try to get along then?" he asked. "And both of you, stop being so irksome."

"Irksome?" Riley repeated in disbelief as he laughed a little. "Who even uses that word anymore?"

"Riley…" Ben muttered threateningly.

"Okay, sorry. Geeze…"

Ben sighed with relief when he finally reached the museum, parking on the street across from the beautiful building. "Do you know how we can get past the front gate, Riley?" he asked, eyeing the infamous yellow bar that blocked the lot off.

"Hold on a sec," Riley muttered, pulling out his laptop from under the car seat. He turned it on and began to type in a few things. "All righty. One… two… three."

Right after the word left his mouth, the yellow bar slowly rose up from its resting position. "I hacked into the security database computers," the techie explained as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "I still wouldn't bring the car into the lot though. Give me another minute to disable the security cameras."

Abigail and Ben exchanged dumbfounded looks while their younger friend typed away. After another moment, Riley smiled triumphantly. "All right. We're good to go," he announced. "It's three-fifteen now, so we should get in there. The cameras will be up and running again in fifteen minutes."

"Let's hurry then," Ben said, reaching for the flashlight that he had brought, but Abigail grabbed it first. The treasure hunter sighed when he saw that his wife wasn't going to give it up, and he got out of the car.

"That's why I'm glad I brought my own," Riley muttered to himself as he climbed out of the car as well, a flashlight in one hand and his laptop under his other arm.

The three of them walked away from the car as Ben locked it behind them and entered the parking lot across the street. Riley typed a few things into his laptop as he walked, and the yellow bar slowly went back down to its original position. "All right. There should be a security door at the first wall we come to," the younger man said, bringing up the museum's floor plans on the screen. "It's unlocked, or at least it should be. That's how the security people get in and out without setting off the alarm at the front entrance."

"Thanks, Riley." Ben suddenly stopped them and pushed them into the shadows against the wall. Five security guards were leaving out of the door that Riley had just described, going on their fifteen-minute break. That meant that there was only one security guard left in the museum.

"That was close," Abigail whispered once they were out of earshot.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to bring you along," Ben replied. "Now, come on." Riley and Abigail followed Ben as he ran to the door the security guards had just left through, finding with relief that it truly was unlocked.

"They're only going to be gone for a short time," Riley commented as he closed the door behind him. "They're probably thinking, 'what's going to happen in fifteen minutes? It's not like someone's going to break in or anything…'"

Ben held up his hand to silence his friend, and both Abigail and Riley turned on their flashlights. They saw that they were in a small, stone, side room that was on the main floor of the museum, a flight of winding metal stairs on their left. "Come on. We need to get to the second floor," the treasure hunter whispered, leading the way up the stairs.

Abigail and Riley both tried to immediately follow him, but ended up bumping into each other. "Ladies first," the younger man muttered. Abigail gave him a smile and started up the stairs after her husband, Riley following close behind.

"I need some light," Ben said, gesturing to a door on the first landing they came to. Abigail raised her flashlight, revealing a sign on the wall that read FLOOR 2. The treasure hunter pushed open the door, and with his two friends providing some light in the completely dark room by their two flashlights, he saw that they were in the main exhibit hall on the second floor. A Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton greeted them along with a statue of the Egyptian god Anubis, and a blue whale skeleton hovered over them on the ceiling.

"You don't think that everything's going to come alive like in _Night at the Museum_, do you?" Riley asked in a joking way, even though he sounded slightly nervous.

"Don't be silly. That's just a movie," Abigail answered.

"Riley, where is the ancient Egypt exhibit?" Ben said anxiously. "We must be close judging by the Anubis statue." They had limited time, and every second was precious.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure where we are," Riley muttered, looking at the floor plans on his laptop. "But I would say it is on the far wall in that direction." He shifted the computer to his left arm and pointed left with the flashlight that was in his right hand.

Ben nodded. "Let's go, then." The three of them began to quickly run in the direction that Riley had suggested, trying to be as quiet as possible as they kept an eye and ear out for the lone security guard. Not running into anyone, they soon reached the far wall and saw that there was not one but two exhibit entrances.

"You know this museum well, Riley," Abigail said. "Which one?"

Riley looked to one and then to the other. "Let's try this one," he finally replied, pointing to the one on the left.

"Lead the way," Ben told him. Riley sighed and entered the exhibit with his two friends close behind. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, and Riley frowned. "Weird. We should be hitting sand by now…"

Suddenly, a light flared on from the ceiling on their left, falling on a scary-looking statue as it shrieked. Riley cried out when he realized they were in the dinosaur exhibit, seeing that he was eye-to-eye with the Velociraptor, and fell to the floor, pushing himself backward away from the display. Then, another light came on behind him, and the techie looked up and saw the head of the Tyrannosaurus Rex directly above him as it roared. He shouted out again and scooted toward the middle of the hall, resting against Ben's leg. Abigail had covered her mouth with her hands, trying to calm her breathing. The sudden lights and statues had nearly given her a heart attack.

Ben laughed as he looked down on his panicked best friend. "Let's just say I'm glad that the security cameras are off," he said as he helped the younger man to his feet. "Now let's get out of here before security comes."

"I thought you knew this museum, Riley," Abigail teased as she led the way back out of the exhibit the way they had entered.

"Yeah, well, it looks different when it's dark," Riley protested in his defense once they were safely out of the exhibit, his voice a little higher than normal. "All right. It's definitely here…"

Riley directed his flashlight to the floor, making sure that they truly were entering the ancient Egypt exhibit this time. Seeing sand made him feel a lot better, and soon the three entered the pyramid and began to make their way through the narrow hallways. Ben noticed Riley's anxiety rise as they continued on, and he was instantly concerned.

"Everything all right, Riley?" he asked.

"I… have mild claustrophobia," Riley answered quietly, almost ashamed of the fact, "that actually developed from me being lost in this exhibit for an hour. I was little, and now I don't do so well in closed, cramped hallways, especially when they're dark…"

Ben placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder in a comforting way, and Abigail prodded Riley in the back from behind her husband with her flashlight. "Don't think about how small the hallway is," she coached him. "Just keep on going."

"Thanks, Abi. Being poked in the back is what I really need right now."

"I try."

The hall soon broadened out, and the three friends found themselves in the Pharaoh's burial chamber. The glowing exit sign cast an almost haunting red light in the room, creating strange shadows. Abigail moved her flashlight around the area, and Riley led Ben to the Hieroglyphics wall. "There's the symbol," the techie whispered, kneeling on the cold stone floor and pointing at the crest.

Ben knelt down beside his best friend, seeing which symbol he was pointing at. He placed his hand against the smooth, golden wall, wondering how they could get a clue from it.

"We have seven minutes in counting," Riley told him, checking the time on his laptop.

"I don't understand," Ben muttered, staring at the symbol intently. "There has to be a way behind this…" He got to his feet and walked to the end of the Hieroglyphics wall, running his hand over the smooth edge and wincing when his knuckles hit the rock wall around it. Then, he froze when he found that there was a small hole that his hand could fit into. The treasure hunter pushed on the golden wall, feeling it budge.

"Six minutes in counting," Riley continued his countdown.

"What did you discover, Ben?" Abigail asked, seeing her husband's triumphant smile.

"The wall is moveable," Ben answered, taking a deep breath, "but I can't move it by myself. Riley, help me."

Riley left his laptop where it was on the floor and handed Abigail his flashlight. "What am I, the flashlight carrier?" she demanded angrily.

"No, I don't think you've quite earned that title yet," Riley told her as he approached the wall. "Try pack mule."

"Would you two stop? We have five minutes," Ben muttered, checking his watch. "Hurry and help me."

"All right, your majesty," Riley said with an eye roll. "What else would you like me to do for you, my lord? Clip your toenails?" But despite his joking, the younger man helped his best friend push on the Hieroglyphics wall. It moved easier with their combined efforts, and they pushed it to the side to reveal a small safe on the rock wall behind it.

Ben stepped closer to it, seeing that the lock ran from zero to fifty. "Nice work on finding that symbol, Riley."

"Okay, here's our problem" Riley replied, ignoring the compliment. "The clue is right in front of us, we have about four minutes before security returns and the cameras go back on, and we don't have the combination to the safe."

"Sure we do," Ben told him after a moment, studying the symbol intently. "It's the location of the crest. Abigail, find the symbol and give me its position. The row its in, the column its in, and its point in that column starting from the top."

"Um, its in row ten, column fifty, point one," Abigail said.

"One?" Riley muttered. "How's that?"

"It's the only one in that column," Abigail explained.

Ben put in the three numbers, hoping that it was the right combination. After the third number, they three of them heard a soft click. The treasure hunter smiled as he pulled open the door of the safe.

Riley sighed when he saw what was inside. "Great. Another envelope."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Derrek, the only security guard in the museum at that moment in time, was relieved to see that the rest would be returning in only a couple of minutes. Nothing had happened in that short fifteen minutes, not that he had expected it to, but he had seen too many scary movies to want to be in the museum alone.

Suddenly, a loud explosion reached his ears. Derrek raced to the balcony, able to see from where he was on the third floor that someone had blown through the wall near the front entrance with explosives, and four people entered wearing all black. The security guard quickly took out his walkie talkie to contact the other guards while he reached for the gun on his belt as the alarms began to sound. "We have trouble. The museum has just been broken into."

**A/N**: Phew, that was a long chapter. The next one won't be as long, but it will be just as important. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from National Treasure is mine. Unfortunately.

**A/N**: Hey, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! As I said, this one won't be as long, but it's just as important. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! Thank you to **Halo**, **Harm Marie**, **daisyduke80**, **PropheticIllusion**, **Supernaturalfreakisabookworm**, **fantomfairy**, **ink0and0paper**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, and **Miss Fenway** for your wonderful reviews. I'm sick with something, I'm not sure what, and these reviews make me feel a lot better. Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 9

Riley and Abigail both jumped when they heard the alarms go off as Ben shut the door of the safe and locked it again. "Way to go, Ben," the techie muttered, helping the older man slide the Hieroglyphics wall back to its original place. "We wanted to be as discreet as possible, not alert the whole museum that we were here."

"That's not because of us," Ben said quietly, handing Riley the envelope. "But we should probably get out of here."

"Let's go then," Riley told them, picking up his laptop from the floor. "We have exactly three minutes to leave the museum."

Ben pushed open the door under the glowing red exit sign, holding it open for Riley and Abigail to leave first since they had the flashlights. But then, he nearly ran into them since they had suddenly stopped when they had left the exhibit. "What are you doing? Keep going!"

"Now we know why the alarm went off," Riley muttered nervously, his eyes glued to something ahead of him.

The treasure hunter followed his gaze, horrified to see smoke rising from the main floor. He rushed to the balcony and saw that a huge hole had appeared in the wall, most likely from some kind of explosive device. "Time to leave," Ben said when he rejoined his two friends. "Let's hurry."

Then, they suddenly stopped when they heard a soft click from behind them. Ben turned to look over his shoulder, his heart nearly stopping when he saw four men all in black and wearing ski masks to conceal their identities, all holding guns and aiming the weapons in their direction. He slowly moved to cover his wife and best friend protectively.

"Why does there always have to be at least one person with a gun?" Riley asked in a whine, holding his laptop close to him.

"Run!" Ben suddenly shouted, pushing Riley and Abigail in the direction of the security exit, which was the same way they had come. Abigail screamed as bullets were fired at them as they ran, and the three friends had to duck behind some statues to avoid being hit. Riley was in a panic.

"What do we do? What do we do?"

"Calm down. I'm working on it," Ben replied, though he was nervous himself. He could hear the four men coming closer…

"Freeze! Hands in the air!"

For a moment, Riley froze and nearly put his hands up, though he knew how much of a contradiction that was since a person couldn't freeze _and_ put their hands up at the same time. But then, he realized that the command hadn't been directed toward them. Ben chanced a glance from behind the statue of Anubis he was hiding behind and saw that the five security guards had appeared on the second floor, facing down the four burglars. Suddenly, confusion occurred when shots began to fire from both groups.

"Let's go," the treasure hunter whispered, pushing Abigail and Riley toward the door again when he knew they should take this opportunity to leave.

His two friends took the hint, and the three of them rushed out the door that they had entered through. "Less than a minute, Ben," Riley muttered anxiously as they ran down the metal staircase.

"We'll make it," Ben reassured him, opening the door that led outside and pushing Abigail and Riley out before him. The three of them ran across the parking lot as fast as they could, jumping over the yellow bar that blocked off the lot just as the techie's laptop beeped, signaling that the security cameras had turned back on.

"Just in time," Abigail said as they made their way across the street to the car as they heard sirens in the distance coming toward the museum. "That was way too close in there."

"That's also why I didn't want you to come," Ben told her seriously, unlocking the car as he stepped inside behind the wheel.

Riley slid into the backseat of the car with a sigh of relief, holding the envelope tightly in his hand. He never did like being shot at, and this time was another very close call. He inwardly as Ben started the car and drove away from the museum even before the cop cars arrived. "Oh, by the way, Ben. I was joking about the toenail thing."

Ben smirked from the driver's seat. "I figured."

Then, Riley's eyes widened in fear when he saw a vehicle parked on the street across from the museum closer to the main entrance. It was a black SUV.

"Ben, did you see that?"

"Yeah, Riley. I did," Ben answered quietly as he hurried away from the museum, knowing that Abigail had no idea what they were talking about. "So, what's in the envelope?"

"Oh, yeah. The envelope…" How could he have forgotten about the envelope? Riley slowly opened it, seeing that there was another folded piece of paper inside of it. "Okay, let's see what the message is." The techie pulled out the paper and unfolded it, his eyes faltering as he looked it over. "Oh no."

"Oh no?" Abigail repeated, looking back at him. "That doesn't sound too good. What's wrong?"

Riley sighed and turned the paper around to show her the message. "That's what's wrong. It's in Hieroglyphics."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben slowly opened his eyes when he heard the phone ringing beside his ear. Why did this always have to happen when he was sleeping? Squinting in the sunlight that was filtering in through the window, Ben sat up and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ben, I didn't know that you slept in until ten."

"I normally don't, Agent Sadusky," Ben muttered, his voice thick with sleep, "but I'm strangely tired today. What can I do for you?"

"Well, if you're not too tired, I was wondering if you and Riley would like to meet me for lunch," the FBI agent said. "There are some things that I would like to discuss with you both."

Ben sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes. "All right then," he replied. "When and where?"

"I was thinking noon at that small Chinese restaurant on Twenty-fourth Street," Sadusky told him. "Doest that work for you?"

"I'll wake Riley."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Why do all of these Chinese places have to have names that aren't pronounceable?" Riley asked quietly as he and Ben entered the restaurant that Sadusky had told them to meet him at. The younger man hadn't been easy to wake up, but the mention of food made it a whole lot less difficult. "It's weird."

"I don't know," Ben answered as he scanned the room for the FBI agent. "Don't let anyone working here hear you say that. I don't think they would appreciate it very much."

"I won't."

"Ben. Riley. Good to see you both."

The treasure hunter smiled when he saw who they were supposed to meet, and the two friends walked over to the table and sat down. "Good to see you too," Ben said cheerfully. "Have you ordered yet?"

Sadusky shook his head. "No, I was waiting for you," he replied. "But here comes our waitress. We'll begin to talk after we order."

After ordering some chicken fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, some egg rolls, and some sweet biscuits to share amongst them, Sadusky got right down to business. "Riley, I have some news about what was written on the notebook page at the funeral home the night that Andrew and Cathy were murdered," he told him. "Our expert agrees with Ben, and it was proven that there was supposed to be another word. Until we find out what that third word is, you are innocent unless you are somehow proven guilty."

Riley sighed with relief. "I can't tell you how good that feels to hear," he muttered with a smile. "Thank you _so _much, Sadusky."

"You're welcome," the FBI agent said with a small smile of his own. "But I also have some bad news for you. We have not found out who broke into your apartment, though we now have a motive for stealing the museum maps."

Ben glanced at Riley before he looked back at the agent. "Which is?" the older man asked quietly.

Sadusky sighed. "The museum downtown was broken into at approximately three twenty-six this morning by what guards say was four people," he answered. "We now think that they used the maps to plan the break-in."

Riley laughed nervously. "Seriously, Sadusky, why would someone want to break into the museum?" he wondered.

"That's what I was hoping _you_ could tell _me_," Sadusky muttered. Riley instantly stopped laughing. "I heard you and Ben talking yesterday in your apartment when we came to investigate it. What is this about an envelope?"

The techie sighed. "Well, it's a rather long story, Sadusky…" he began slowly. Then, their waitress bringing them their food spared the younger man momentarily. Sadusky broke apart his chopsticks and looked at Riley expectantly.

"We have time."

Riley broke apart his own chopsticks, eating some of the fried rice before clearing his throat. "Before Andy and Cathy were murdered, we discovered that my father had left me something…"

Ben and Sadusky were silent as Riley explained what had happened since his father died, the treasure hunter noticing that he had left out the part about them breaking into the museum as well. They were just getting back on the good side of the FBI agent after all…

"And you believe that this clue is in the museum and that's what those people were after?" Sadusky asked once the story was finished.

"Yes, that's our guess," Riley answered truthfully. "It has to be someone else who knew about the envelope other than my dad."

"And do you have any idea who this could be?"

"No…"

Suddenly, Riley's cell phone rang, and the techie smiled with embarrassment when the song that plays at the beginning and end of every _Batman_ movie resounded from his pocket. He quickly took it out and flipped it open. "Hello, this is Riley."

Ben watched his best friend's face go from normal to confused but also kind of horrified in a matter of seconds. "Yeah, but I'm kind of in the middle of lunch with some friends right now," Riley said to whoever was on the other line. "Can I come by after?" There were another few moments of silence where the younger man listened, his face darkening with disappointment. "Is it really that important? Fine, I'll be there shortly." He flipped his phone closed and ended the call.

"I hate to run without finished eating, Sadusky, but Ben and I have to go," Riley muttered. Then, he turned to his best friend. "That was the coroner who looked over and prepared my dad's body before the funeral. He said that he wanted to show me some pictures and that it was crucial we get there as quickly as possible."

Ben nodded. "All right. Let's go," he said, getting to his feet and placing some money on the table. "I'm sorry, Sadusky. Thank you for inviting us."

"That's all right. I understand," Sadusky replied with a smile as Ben hurried toward the door of the restaurant. "This will make a good lunch for me tomorrow."

Riley returned the smile as he quickly followed the treasure hunter. "Wait!"

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben drove in the direction of downtown where the morgue was. "I wonder what pictures the coroner wants to show you," he muttered.

"I know," Riley agreed as he draped his arm out of the open window. "I can honestly say that I have no idea."

The treasure hunter turned on to another street, seeing that this was the street that the museum was on. A yellow police line blocked off the steps leading up to the building, and the two friends were horrified to see the giant hole that was in the wall beside the entrance doors.

"That's horrible," Riley commented quietly. "At least _we_ weren't destructive when _we_ broke in."

Ben's eyes were glued to the damage caused by the explosion as he slowly drove past it, ignoring his friend's comment. He couldn't explain it, but it strangely felt familiar. He knew of one person who would do something exactly like this, even though it was impossible.

But now, he had to get Riley to the morgue. Whatever it was must have been important. Otherwise, it could have waited until after lunch.

"Here we are," the treasure hunter muttered about five minutes later, pulling into the parking lot. Riley jumped out even before the car was turned off, and Ben had to hurry to catch up with him. After checking in at the desk and waiting in the lobby for an incredibly boring, drawn out twenty minutes, the two friends were led to a small room down a flight of stairs that was filled with computers. A brown-haired man with glasses smiled sympathetically as they entered.

"Hello, I'm Jason," the man said, shaking hands with Riley and then Ben. "Thank you for coming, gentlemen."

"You're welcome, even though we were in the middle of a perfectly good lunch," Riley replied. "Now when you called, you said that it was very important that I come immediately. You had some strange pictures that you wanted to show me?"

Jason's face darkened. "Yes, I'm afraid. I have some pictures from your father's autopsy that I think you should see," he muttered, picking up a manila envelope and pulling out the x-rays. "I thought that I would wait until after the funeral to show you since it would have been too painful otherwise."

Confused, Riley took the pictures that the coroner offered him, seeing that they were images of his father's lungs, veins, and other internal organs. His eyes narrowed as he looked closer at them, seeing that there was something unnatural in the bloodstream. "May I use one of your computers?" he asked.

"Go right ahead," Jason answered quietly, gesturing to one.

Riley sat down and instantly began to type on the keyboard. He entered a strange program that appeared to Ben to be of questionable legality, sighing and leaning back in the chair when he saw that he had to wait. "This had better not be what I think it is."

Ben was instantly concerned. "Is everything all right?" he wondered. "What's going on?" Jason just appeared to be dumbfounded at the younger man's computer skills since he had never seen the site that he had brought up before.

Suddenly, the computer beeped, signaling that the search was complete. Riley instantly sat up and clicked the "okay" button, reading over the new screen that had come up. His face instantly drained of color as his heart seemed to skip a beat. "Oh my God…"

"What?" Ben asked anxiously. "What did you find, Riley?"

"It's arsenic," Riley muttered softly in disbelief, looking from the image on the computer screen to the pictures that the coroner had given him. "He was poisoned."

**A/N**: For those of you who know absolutely nothing about poison, never fear, neither do I. My mom actually gave me some information on arsenic (how she knows, I don't know, but it's coming in handy!). So, the plot keeps getting thicker. I know this chapter was mainly dialogue except for the beginning, but the next chapter will be mainly action, so that makes up for it. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movie is mine, however, everything else is. Oh, and I also do not own Linkin Park.

**A/N**: Hey, this story is moving right along now! I'm glad you guys are liking it. Thank you so much to **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **daisyduke80**, **Supernaturalfreakisabookworm** (thank you for all the information!), **Halo**, **Harm Marie**, **Miss Fenway**, and **Majestik Moose** for your wonderful reviews. Whatever I was sick with seems to be going away now, so that's good. So, with a sore left hand from falling on the stupid ice (just like Riley in my other NT story, _Riley Versus Winter_!), I bring you the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"We believe that he didn't die from one big dosage, but small dosages over a long period of time, most likely in food," Jason told them heavily, saddened by seeing how Riley was handling the news. "I'm very sorry."

Tears formed in Riley's eyes, but he was able to successfully push them back. "I just… I didn't think that he… he was… _murdered_…" he muttered, having to force out the last word. "I don't understand… _who_…"

Ben placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Riley, do you have any idea at all who would want to something like this to your father?" he asked quietly.

Riley didn't say anything for a moment, but then he cringed under Ben's hand as though he had been struck by it and got to his feet. "Just leave me alone, Ben," he whispered, not able to restrain his tears this time. "Please. I just want to be left alone."

"All right, Riley," Ben muttered, even though it was against his better judgment. He watched with rising concern as the younger man left the room, heading back up the stairs that they had earlier come down. The treasure hunter gave Jason one last look before deciding to go against his word and follow him.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley was relieved to be having some time alone to be able to think things over as he left the morgue and began walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. Part of him wanted Ben to be with him since he was his best friend and a good source of comfort, but the other part of him didn't want his over protectiveness around so that he could get the chance to clear his head. He had his cell phone. He could call the treasure hunter to come and get him from wherever he ended up.

It had been heartbreaking enough to hear that his dad had died, but it was even worse to hear that he had been murdered. Jeremy Poole was one of the kindest men that God had placed on this Earth. Why would someone purposely want to kill him?

The techie suddenly looked up and over his shoulder, blinking in the summer sun, when he heard the sound of squealing tires and saw a taxi come quickly around the corner. Assuming that someone on the street he was on had called for it or the person in it had to get somewhere quickly, he kept on walking.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the taxi slow to a stop beside him. Before Riley could react, the back door opened and a pair of arms reached out and grabbed him. He cried out, grabbing on to the side of the car to try to keep from being pulled in. As he struggled, Riley gasped when he saw his best friend come around the corner. He was instantly angry when he realized that he must have followed him when he told him not to, but when he remembered the situation that he was in, he was suddenly relieved.

"Ben!" Riley shouted anxiously.

But he was too late. The arms yanked on him forcefully, and he was pulled into the taxi, the door being slammed shut behind him as the vehicle drove off.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Ben!"

The treasure hunter looked up at the sound of his name, hearing that it had an anxious note to it. He was horrified when he saw his best friend being pulled into a taxi with force, the vehicle speeding off down the street afterward.

"Riley!" Ben shouted, even though he couldn't hear him. He nervously looked around him, wondering what to do. His first impulse had been to run after the taxi that had taken the techie, but he knew that he could never catch up to the car on foot. Fortunately for him, he had seen the number on the taxi door. 090. He could always call the police, but he knew that it would take too long for them to get there, even with Sadusky leading them. The taxi and whoever had taken Riley would be long gone by then. That only left him with one option.

Ben quickly ran back to the morgue parking lot, which fortunately wasn't too far away, and anxiously started the car. "Hold on, Riley," he whispered as he prepared to back out of the lot. "I'm coming."

Then, his eyes landed on the cell phone that was resting in his pocket. He quickly took it out and turned it on, searching for his best friend on GPS mode. After a moment, a blinking yellow dot appeared on the green screen, showing him where Riley was in relation with himself. Ben sighed with relief, thanking God for the GPS tracking system and that Riley had his cell phone on him and it was turned on. He set the phone on the passenger seat where he could easily see it if he glanced down, and he started his drive down the street after the taxi.

Xxxxxxxxxx

_"So let mercy come_

_And wash away_

_What I've done._

_I'll face myself_

_And let go of what I've become._

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what I've done."_

"Are you all right, Riley?" the black-haired man sitting in the back seat of the taxi with the younger man asked.

"Okayish," Riley answered him in a sarcastic way, "considering that I was just kidnapped by my own brother in a taxi, and I just found out that my dad was murdered." He paused for a moment. "Nice song choice, though. I didn't know you liked Linkin Park."

Dustin laughed a little. "It just came on the radio. I didn't choose it," he told him seriously. "Nick, could you turn he radio down please?"

Nick nodded from the driver's seat, doing as he was instructed. Riley couldn't help but notice that the blond man was strangely quiet, Dustin hadn't said anything about their father's intentional death, and they were going almost seven over the speed limit. What was going on?"

"I'm sorry that I had to go to such lengths to speak with you, Riley," Dustin said. "Kidnapping you was not something I intended."

"Then why did you?" Riley demanded, his impatience rising to anger. "What do you want with me? What's going on?!"

Dustin raised his hands in front of him in a peaceful gesture. "Please, calm down, Riley. No harm will come to you if you just listen," he muttered. "I promise. I just want you to do something simple for me. Will you listen?"

Riley rolled his eyes. "I don't know, it depends on what it is," he snapped. "I don't appreciate being forced into a taxi against my will, you know."

The older Poole locked gazes with his brother, staring straight into his deep blue eyes. "Riley… I need you to give me whatever you found at the museum early this morning."

The quiet statement caught Riley off guard, and his anger melted into confusion. "What?" he asked. "How do you know about that? You weren't there… were you?"

Dustin sighed and lowered his gaze for only a split second, but that was all the convincing that Riley needed. "Wait… You _were_ there," the techie whispered with horror. "The explosives… the men with guns… That was _you_?!"

"Riley, please…" Dustin began quietly.

"And you!" Riley continued, pointing to Nick. "That's why you were at the museum when I was. You were spying on me!" The computer whiz looked hurt.

"Riley…" Dustin muttered.

"I don't believe this," Riley said, looking from his older brother's face to the back of Nick's blond head. "Did you guys break into my apartment too?"

"Riley!" Dustin yelled angrily, shocking the younger Poole into silence while he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Riley's forehead. "Listen to me very, very carefully. I will not kill you because you are my brother, and I do not want to hurt you. But I need you to do exactly what I say. Give me the clue that you found at the museum."

Riley's eyes landed with fear on the gun that was directed at him. "I don't' have it with me," he said truthfully in what he hoped was a calm voice. "Good luck reading it if I did have it anyway. It's not in English."

Dustin looked at him with confusion, but before he could ask what he meant, the taxi slowed to a stop at a red light. Riley suddenly turned to the door and anxiously pulled on the handle over and over. He wondered why it wasn't opening, and then his heart sank when he saw the infamous sticker on the bottom right hand corner of the window.

"Stupid child safety lock," Riley whispered in frustration. The one thing he hated about taxis was even without child safety lock, it was almost impossible to open the back doors anyway since the locks went down so far that you couldn't pull them up. Also, it was hard to concentrate with a gun pointed at your head.

Dustin laughed a little from behind him. "You're not going anywhere, Riley, except for your destination," the older Poole said.

"Which is where exactly?" Riley asked nervously, turning to face his brother.

Dustin smirked. "You'll see when we arrive," he answered casually as he lowered the gun, seeing that the younger man wasn't going to make any more escape attempts.

"You know, this reminds me of when I was seven and you told me that you were going to bring me to a fun place," Riley muttered. "I asked where we were going, and you said that I would find out when I got there. It turned out to be the circus, and I cried because I was terrified of clowns. I hated you for a week."

The older Poole laughed a little more. "It was funny, though, you have to admit," he said. "Remember the elephant?"

"Riley grinned. "And the chimp?" he chimed in.

"And the peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

"What are you two talking about?" Nick asked from behind the wheel, confused when he heard that both Pooles were laughing.

Dustin smiled broadly. "You would have had to have been there, Nick," he told him. "It was hilarious." Then, he reached down on the floor beside his feet. "Oh. Would you like a cookie, Riley?"

The younger Poole was caught off guard by the sudden question. "Um, no tank you," he muttered. "I'm not really hungry…"

"Oh, come on. They're your favorite," Dustin pressed, showing him the container. "Chocolate chip and peanut butter. I made them for the family dinner after the funeral yesterday, but you weren't there. So, I saved them for you. Besides, you look starved, Kiddo."

Riley sighed. "Oh, all right. I can't resist." He reached into the bowl and grabbed a cookie, beginning to eat it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Dustin placed the container back on the floor after putting the lid back on it. "Enjoy."

"So, what do you want the clue for?" Riley asked once he had finished the cookie. "What does it lead to?"

Dustin sighed deeply, looking at the younger Poole sadly. "Let's just say that Dad didn't tell you everything like he promised you he would, Riley," he answered quietly.

Before Riley could ask further about what he meant, both him and Dustin fell off their seats as the taxi was lightly bumped from behind. "Ow…" the younger Poole muttered, rubbing his head as he slowly pushed himself back on to the seat. "What idiot…" He suddenly gasped when he saw the car that he had pulled up alongside them. "Ben!"

Dustin growled angrily when he saw the treasure hunter. "Drive, Nick! Drive!" he shouted, hitting the back of the blond man's seat.

"I'll see if I can get on to a side road," Nick replied. "The traffic's too busy up here."

"Well, do whatever you can," Dustin told him, seeing that Ben was still right beside them. He had his window down and was yelling something at the taxi. Since their windows were up, they couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, Nick turned right on to a side street right in front of Ben's car, speeding up since there was no other traffic. He was frustrated to see that the treasure hunter was right behind.

"Come on, Ben," Riley muttered anxiously, looking out the back window of the taxi. Then, he gasped when he felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun against his temple.

"Sit down and stay quiet," Dustin ordered softly. "If you speak a word, I cannot promise that you will not be hurt."

Riley slowly turned around and sat down in the seat, fighting back the urge to say a smart comment in return. _"As long as I'm not killed,"_ he thought anxiously, watching as his older brother lowered the gun out of the corner of his eye. Safe. He looked out the window next to him when he saw Ben pull up beside them again, and he met his best friend's eyes. The techie's face saddened as he gave the older man the desperate "help me" look.

Ben seemed to fill with determination when he saw how helpless Riley looked, but he was also confused about why the younger man wasn't opening the taxi door. His friend seemed to realize this, and he began to mouth three words over and over again. After a moment, Ben realized that the three words were "child safety lock".

The treasure hunter mentally swore as he swerved slightly to avoid a garbage can. Rescuing Riley was going to be slightly harder than he had imagined. But he still knew how he could.

Riley watched with confusion as Ben slowed down the car only slightly, the back door of the taxi level with his. He reached out his open window and pulled on the taxi's door handle, beating the child safety lock. The younger man smiled triumphantly when the door opened, but he held it back a little so that it wouldn't hit his rescuer's car.

"No!" Dustin moved to try to shut the door again, but Riley pushed him back. Even though he was his own brother, the one person that he had used to look up to other than his father, the one who had helped to raise him after their mother died, he didn't want to be with him at that time. All he wanted was to get in his best friend's car and go to his best friend's house to spend some time with his best friend and his best friend's wife.

"Riley!"

The techie turned to look out the window and saw that Ben had gotten as close to the taxi as possible and was gesturing to the back door of his car. Understanding what he was saying, Riley reached out of the door of the taxi and pulled open the back door of Ben's car, something that he had only seen done in movies before. Nick tried to pull away from the treasure hunter, but was stopped by Dustin when the older Poole noticed that his brother was clinging tightly to the door of the other car. He didn't want him to accidentally get killed.

But he could make one last attempt to stop him. Dustin reached forward and grabbed on to Riley's leg. "Riley…" he muttered, trying to keep him back.

Riley stared at his brother for a moment. "I'll have to meet your friends some other time," he finally told him quietly, pulling out of the older Poole's grasp. Then, hoping that this would work since he had seen it work in all of his favorite action movies, he pushed himself out of the taxi and squeezed through the back door of Ben' s car. Thanking God that he was so skinny, Riley shut the door behind him and lay across the streets, closing his eyes as he tried to calm his breathing. He was safe.

"Stop, Nick," Dustin muttered, watching as Ben hurried off down the street with his younger brother.

Nick slowed to a stop on the side of the road as his best friend sighed, and he glanced at the container of cookies on the floor. "I thought you said that you didn't want to hurt him, Dustin," he commented sadly.

Dustin put his hand over his face, rubbing his eyes before he looked back at the blond-haired man. "Riley won't cooperate willingly," he told him, almost regretfully. "I had no choice."

**A/N**: And that's it for this exciting installment. I know, evil ending, but the next chapter is going to be even more evil! Don't worry, no one will die, but it's still going to be evil. Thank you for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: I own Riley and the gang! Just kidding. No I don't. If I did… Well, let's just say that I would be off making National Treasure 3 right now.

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks for all of the quick reviews you guys, and it's great to see some new faces! Well, new pen names anyway. I'm glad you all like this story that was just meant to be a oneshot. Now look where it's come! Thank you so very much to **fantomfairy**, **Spice of Life**, **Small-Fri**, **ink0and0paper**, **BananaPieThiefX**, **Sakoko-chan**, **Majestik Moose**, **Harm Marie**, **Supernaturalfreakisabookworm**, **daisyduke80**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Halo**, and **Miss Fenway** for your awesome reviews! I hope you're all prepared for this particularly **cough** evil chapter. Enjoy!

**Warning**: This is one chapter (there's only probably going to only be one more after this) where a character will be in extreme physical pain. I'm also taking some creative license on arsenic here, even though I know about it, and I'm also going off of what my mom gave me. So, yeah. I'm warning you, this is evil. But, continue reading my friends!

Chapter 11

Ben was concerned at Riley's lack of words as he drove down the road farther and farther away from the now parked taxi. "Riley, are you all right?" he asked, weaving back on to a main road. "You're awful quiet."

"Not really, Ben," Riley answered truthfully in a quiet voice. "I'm still trying to process everything that just happened…"

"Do you know who those people were that kidnapped you, Riley?" Ben continued. "I didn't get a good look at them."

Riley took a sharp intake of breath at his best friend's question, a tear falling from his deep blue eyes. He tried to wipe it away before Ben noticed it in his rearview mirror, but he was too late.

"Who were they, Riley?" the treasure hunter muttered.

"I… I can't tell you," Riley whispered, turning on to his side facing the back of the car seats to try to escape from his friend's gaze.

Ben sighed and pulled to the side of the road, turning off the car. He opened his door and stepped out, shutting it again behind him as he opened the back door. "Riley, if you don't move your feet, I'll sit on them."

At first, the younger man was unresponsive to the comment. Then, he slowly curled his legs up closer to him without looking at his friend. Ben sat down on the now available seat, closing the door behind him. "Riley, what happened?"

Riley slowly turned on to his back, appearing to Ben to be a small child who was guilty of hiding something that was very important, though this was more than a broken vase. Tears were shining in his eyes, and his chest seemed to be heaving almost painfully. "I… I can't…"

"Yes, you can," Ben told him gently. "Come on, Riley. Tell me what happened."

The techie took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself as he tried to find the right words. His heart beating heavily in his chest with the sound of it echoing loudly in his ears, he pleadingly looked up at Ben as he silently asked him not to make him tell what had happened. But the treasure hunter continued to stare at him, determined to make him tell him what happened so that he could help. Who were the people that had kidnapped him? Riley finally sighed with defeat, closing his eyes as he muttered the next three words.

"It was Dustin."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Yes, I was wondering if you could tell me who the taxi number 090 is registered to," Ben said, pacing the room as he listened intently to the taxi company on the other end of the line. "All right. Thank you. Bye."

Ben hit the end button and placed the cordless phone back on its charger, going into the living room where Riley was sitting lethargically on the couch and staring blankly into space. "The taxi that Dustin took you in was really registered to Nick Baron," he told him, sitting down on the couch beside him. "Did you know that he was a taxi driver?"

Riley slowly shook his head. "That's probably why it was so easy though."

The treasure hunter sighed. He had never seen his best friend like this before. Riley was normally so full of life, always ready with a sarcastic comeback. But Ben knew that he would be the same if he had just found out that his father had been murdered and his own brother had just kidnapped him. It was difficult to wrap his mind around, but if Dustin was going to such lengths just to merely speak with Riley, whatever their father had left behind must have been important.

Abigail then walked into the living room from the kitchen, smiling sadly at Riley and Ben. "Come on, Boys. Dinner's ready," she said. "I made your favorite, Riley. Broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole. With extra cheese of course."

Riley gave her a smile in return. "Thanks, Abs. You're the best." He and Ben slowly got to their feet and followed her back into the kitchen. "It smells really good. I should get kidnapped more often."

"Thank you, but you don't have to get kidnapped for me to make his for you, Riley," Abigail replied, finding it strange that Riley was complimenting her so much. "Help yourselves." She placed the steaming bowl in the middle of the table, giving a big spoon to Riley so that he could scoop some on to his plate. "When are you going to call the police?"

"I don't know…" The younger man took the spoon, beginning to take some of the casserole and putting it on his plate. But a strange feeling in his stomach suddenly overtook him when the smell reached him again as he offered Ben the spoon. Riley closed his eyes as the silver utensil fell from his hand and hit the hard floor.

"Riley?" Ben said anxiously, seeing that the techie had suddenly grown very pale.

"I'm sorry," Riley muttered quietly, brushing the older man's concern aside as he put his hand to his head. "I'm not really hungry anymore, Abi."

"It's probably just stress from today," Abigail replied, though she was nervous herself. "You should try to eat at least a little something. I'll get you something lighter for your stomach."

"No, Abi. Don't," Riley told her just as she was standing up. "I… I'm going to be sick." He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled toward the kitchen doorway, nearly falling in his haste. Ben listened with mounting concern as Riley clumsily made it up the stairs and then heard the bathroom door slam shut. His eyes moved to his wife, who was still standing by her chair but now had her hand over her mouth with worry.

"Go after him, Ben," Abigail whispered as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Go after him. Make sure he's okay!"

Ben nodded, not needing telling twice, his expression not reflecting the worry he was feeling. One of them had to try to appear calm in this situation. He rushed up the staircase and stopped in front of the bathroom door, knocking on it softly. "Riley?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

There was a long pause, which alarmed the treasure hunter. "Just a sec," Riley finally muttered, his voice sounding muffled through the wooden door. But Ben also noticed that it sounded weak. There was the sound of the toilet flushing, and the techie spoke again. "All right. You can come in."

Ben immediately pushed open the door and found Riley lying on the floor near the sink, his face deathly pale and sweat-drenched. The older man took out a small, plastic cup out of the cabinet and filled it with ice-cold water. He then knelt down beside his best friend and offered him the now-filled cup. "Here, Riley. Drink this."

Riley turned to him and looked at the cup with dim eyes, raising his upper body with difficulty and reaching a shaking hand toward the cup. Ben let him take it, but helped to guide his hand to his mouth and awkwardly drink the water. As soon as it was gone, the cup dropped from the younger man's hand, and he collapsed to the floor. Ben watched with fear as the techie curled in on himself and grabbed his stomach, beginning to groan in pain and agony.

Knowing that he had to get Riley out of the bathroom, the treasure hunter gently pried the younger man's arms and legs away from him, seeing with alarm that he was not even able to protest. Ben took one of Riley's arms and put it around his neck, carefully pulling him up off the floor as he put one arm around his best friend's thin waist. The techie was too weak to walk on his own, and he leaned entirely on Ben for support as the older man pulled him out of the bathroom and into his room, feeling Riley's heart beating much too quickly and forcefully as he gently laid him down on the bed. His eyes still closed, he slowly began to curl up again and grab at his stomach.

Ben ran out of the room, reluctant to leave Riley but knew that it was only going to be for a second. He stood at the top of the stairs, not planning on taking the time to run down them. "Abigail, bring me the phone!" he shouted anxiously, running back into Riley's room as soon as the words had left his mouth. Abigail came up the stairs and appeared in the room a second later, phone in her hand, and she gasped when she saw the younger man.

"Oh my God," she whispered, handing the phone to her husband as she pushed past him and sat down on the bed next to the techie. "Riley, look at me!"

Abigail was alarmed when she didn't get a response. She put her hands on either side of Riley's head and gently turned it so that she could see his face. Then, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead, a trick her grandmother had taught her to check someone's temperature. "He's burning up, Ben," she muttered nervously, watching as tears fell from behind his tightly closed eyes.

"I know," Ben replied, bringing the phone to his ear after dialing a number that he knew so well.

"Ben, we should bring him to a hospital," Abigail continued anxiously, trying to brush Riley's tears away.

"I don't want to move him much since I don't know what's wrong with him," Ben told her firmly, desperately wanting the person on the other end to pick up. "What if moving him will make whatever this is worse? We don't know for sure." If something happened to Riley under his care that he wouldn't recover from, he knew he would never forgive himself.

"He needs medical attention, Ben!"

"I know!" Ben shouted, but then dropped his voice to the normal level when the person he was calling answered. "Oh. Hi, Dad."

"What is this about, Son?" Patrick asked in a serious tone on the other end. "What do you know?"

"Dad, something's wrong with Riley," Ben answered anxiously, trying to suppress his fear. "He has a high fever, seems to be having stomach pain, and he's unresponsive." He anxiously looked to the bed, watching as Abigail tried to keep a writhing Riley still. She took his upper body and held him close to her, tears falling from her eyes as she placed her chin on top of his head. The younger man struggled to escape from her hold even though she wasn't letting go, and he seemed to be trying to tear at his stomach with his hands.

Patrick sighed. "It sounds to me that he needs to be taken to a hospital, Ben," he told him quietly. "As quickly as possible too."

Ben bit his bottom lip. "I know he needs medical attention, Dad, but I don't really want to move him since I don't know what's wrong with him," he replied. "I was wondering if you happened to have the number of the doctor that used to come to our house when I was growing up."

"Doctors rarely make house calls anymore, Ben," Patrick said heavily. "Even if they did, it would be very expensive."

"Riley's worth it, Dad. Don't worry. I'll be able to pay for not whatever it is," Ben muttered. "Besides, he's the only one I trust. Please, Dad. If not for me, do it for Riley."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and for a panicked minute, Ben thought that his father wasn't going to agree. But then, he sighed with relief when he heard his voice again. "All right, here's the number. You call it, and I'll be on my way in a couple of minutes," Patrick said.

"Thanks, Dad," Ben replied after he wrote down the number. "I'll see you in a little while. Bye."

"He's a little calmer now," Abigail told her husband once he was off the phone, Riley lying heavily against her. He was still whimpering in pain as his arms rested around his stomach, but he was no longer frantically trying to tear at it.

"Hopefully he stays that way," Ben said as he dialed the new number that Patrick had given him, hoping that it would work. He waited tensely, and on the fourth ring, someone finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Doctor Charlie Harrison?" Ben asked. "This is Benjamin Gates."

"Ben Gates?" Charlie said thoughtfully. "Ben… Oh, yes. I remember you, Ben. It's been a long time. How are you?"

"I'm all right," Ben replied, "but I'm afraid that my best friend isn't. He's in a terrible amount of pain, and I was wondering if you could come and look at him. I don't want to risk moving him around too much…"

Charlie sighed. "Ben, I'm retired now. I'm getting too old," he told him. "I'm sorry, Kid. A hospital is your best option."

But Ben desperately shook his head, even though he knew that the doctor couldn't see his action. "Please," he begged. "We don't know what's wrong with him, and moving him could make his condition worse. He could die if he doesn't get attention. Please. You're the only one I trust."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "Well, I guess I could get my equipment out again," Charlie muttered. "Just give me some time to sterilize some things. Then, I'll be there. Just give me your address."

Ben smiled gratefully as he told the doctor he had grown up with his new address, thanking him over and over for coming. Then, he hung up. "He's coming," he told his wife, sitting down on the bed beside her.

"Thank God," Abigail muttered, holding an unmoving Riley close to her as she wiped her tears away. "I think he's sleeping now…"

The treasure hunter sadly looked at Riley, who was lying still in Abigail's arms. Though he appeared peaceful, he could see that the younger man's face was still very pale, his breathing short and irregular as his arms were still clamped protectively around his stomach. He whimpered softly, curling up slightly. "Hold on, Riley," Ben whispered, placing his hand lightly on his best friend's shoulder.

Then, the doorbell rang from downstairs. Ben reluctantly stood up and hurried down the steps, opening the front door. "Hey. Thanks for coming, Dad."

"You're welcome," Patrick replied, holding up a plastic bag from the nearby pharmacy. "You're mother sent me prepared. Fever reducer, pain killers, all kinds of stuff…"

"Thanks, Dad," Ben said, taking the bag from him. "I'm glad that Mom was thinking ahead like she always does. Riley's upstairs if you want to see him."

Patrick slipped his shoes off and hurried up the stairs even before the statement was completely out of his son's mouth. Abigail looked up when she heard someone enter the room, seeing that Ben was not with the older Gates. Patrick kissed her on top of the head in greeting, sitting down on the bed beside her as he looked at Riley lying in her arms with concern. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" he asked quietly.

"No," Abigail answered quietly, rocking the younger man gently. "I thought that it just might have been stress from today, but I don't think so anymore."

"What happened today that would make him stressed?"

Before Abigail could explain, the sound of the doorbell echoed around them again. A couple of minutes later, Ben came up the stairs with an older man with a lined face and graying hair, a slight limp to his step. "I'm sorry that it took so long to get up the stairs, Ben," the man said with a slight laugh. "I'm not as young as I used to be, you know." He stopped in the doorway, nodding and smiling when he saw Patrick, who nodded back. "Hello, Patrick."

"Charlie," Patrick replied. "Thank you for coming to see my son's best friend."

"Of course," Charlie told him. "I may be retired, but Ben convinced me. Let me see the young man."

Abigail sniffed quietly as she gently laid Riley down on the bed, his head resting on the pillow. Charlie slowly moved over to the bed and sat down, opening a bag that he had brought with him. He pulled out a stethoscope and placed in on Riley's chest beneath his shirt, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. The younger man winced under the coldness of the metal, but Charlie moved it away soon after.

"His heart is beating much too quickly," the doctor muttered, reaching inside his bag again. "What exactly is wrong with your friend, Ben?"

"He has a high fever and seems to be having extreme stomach pains," Ben told him worriedly. "Is there anything you can do?"

Charlie set the bag down on the floor and moved closer to the techie, lightly pushing down on his stomach. Riley hoarsely cried out in pain and turned on to his side, trying to escape from the doctor's hand as he wrapped his arms around his stomach protectively. His face grew even paler, and a tear fell from his closed eyes.

Patrick reached forward and gently rolled Riley on to his back, knowing that the doctor would have to feel the pained area to see what was wrong, holding him down as Charlie pressed on his stomach once more. The techie screamed again from the action, desperately trying to push his hand away when he found that he couldn't roll on to his side to get away from it. The doctor finally moved his hand, sighing.

"There is definitely something in his system, so it's not his appendix, but I wouldn't know what exactly unless I took a blood sample," Charlie told the group. "I can guess that it was from something he ate."

Ben was confused by the statement. "The only thing that he had was some Chinese food earlier, which is the same thing I had," he muttered. "I'm fine…"

"Anyone else have this Chinese food?" Charlie asked.

"Yes. Agent Peter Sadusky of the FBI," Ben answered.

"Is he all right?"

"As far as I know."

Charlie placed his hand on Riley's forehead to check his temperature, who cringed as he unconsciously associated this hand to the one who had applied slight pressure to his agonizing stomach. "We need to bring his fever down," he said. "Ben, do you have anything for it?"

The treasure hunter smiled a little, silently thanking his mother and her being overly prepared. He reached into the bag from the pharmacy and found the pills that were supposed to lower fevers and handed the bottle to Charlie, who took one out and crushed it.

"Water."

Abigail, the closest one to the door, rushed out of the room, returning shortly with a plastic cup with water in it. Charlie put the ground up pill into the water and mixed it in, gently lifting up Riley's upper body and putting the cup to his mouth. He forced it down the younger man's throat, who coughed violently after he swallowed it. The doctor rubbed his back until his coughing fit ceased and then gently set him back down on his pillow. A moment later, Riley's face contorted with pain, and he curled in on himself as he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"Are you sure that the Chinese food was the only thing he had?" Charlie asked, reaching into his bag and pulling out a needle that he had spent time preparing before he came to Ben's home.

"Yes, at least with me," Ben answered, knowing that there was only a short span of time where Riley wasn't with him, and that was when he had been with his brother in the taxi.

"He was with you all day?"

Ben was silent for a moment, deciding not to bring up the taxi incident. "Yes."

"Strange…" Charlie put the shot together, looking at Patrick again. "You may want to hold him still again."

Patrick leaned forward, gently uncurling Riley as he held one of his arms still. Charlie then put some rubbing alcohol on the crook of his arm before gingerly sticking the needle into his vein. The techie winced and tried to pull his arm away, trying to escape form the person that was causing him so much pain, but Patrick held him still. Abigail suddenly left the room in tears, having to get herself something to drink to calm herself down. Ben sank weakly on to the bed, his legs giving out on him at the sight of his best friend in such agony. It terrified him.

When he had enough blood, Charlie removed the needle and put a bandage over the bleeding point. "I'll take this to the nearest hospital to be analyzed, and I'll return here and wait for their phone call," the doctor told them, taking the vial with him but leaving his bag behind.

"All right. Thank you, Charlie," Patrick said, getting to his feet also. "I'll make a pot of coffee for us to have when you come back."

"Thank you, Patrick. That sounds wonderful. I'll return shortly." Then, the retired man looked back at the treasure hunter. "Ben, keep a close eye on Riley. Make sure you note any changes."

"I will," Ben muttered with a nod. But when the doctor left the room with Patrick, he realized that none of them had told him Riley's name.

**A/N**: I know. Evil right? I feel terrible doing this to Riley, but it's a pivotal point in the story. Oh, I pulled a Ben the other day! One of my friends asked me something about Lafayette, the French man who helped the Americans out while fighting for their independence from Britain. I actually began how Ben normally would. "Well, during the American Revolution…", and I ended up telling the whole story of Lafayette (during that time period anyway). Then, I was like, "Crap! I pulled a Ben!" Well, that's what being in AP History does to you. Hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: No one that you recognize from the movies are mine. But Dustin, Nick, Charlie, and even a guy named Daniel that I throw in are mine. So, no suing!

**A/N**: I'm glad that we all survived that evil chapter, even Riley. Don't worry- he's not going to die. I also take back what I said about there being only one more chapter where there will be a character in physical pain. There's going to be a little in this one and a little in the next, along with one later on. So, yeah. Thank you sooooo much to **daisyduke80**, **Halo** (special thanks to you for helping me with some later plot developments!), **Sakoko-chan**, **ink0and0paper** (there's going to be more chapters, don't worry!), **Small-Fri**, **Majestik Moose**, **fantomfairy**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Rose of Hope**, **Miss Fenway**, and **Floragirl101 **for your wonderful reviews. I can't believe I hit 100! Who knew that this story would take off so much? But, I also apologize for this chapter because it's a shorter, transition, explanatory chapter with not much Riley in it (I know. I love him as much as you guys, but he's kind of unconscious anyway- which will also change in the next update!). I just had to get this part out of the way. Some things will be made clear here, while more mysteries will appear. But, can it be any other way with National Treasure? Lol. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Charlie drove the blood sample that he had taken from Riley to the hospital and arrived back at the estate in record time. The strong smell of coffee drifted up to the room where Riley was, and though she was reluctant to leave, Abigail excused herself and went down to the kitchen to grab one. Ben refused to leave Riley, even though he was beginning to get drowsy as the night wore on and the smell of freshly brewed coffee was becoming more and more alluring. He was determined not to fall asleep, because even though his best friend appeared to be asleep, his arms would still move to his stomach as he curled up more. He was still in pain, tremendous pain judging by the expression on his pale face.

Time seemed to nearly stop or not even exist for Ben as he sat at the techie's side, and soon, he didn't know what time it even was. The concept was almost foreign to him, and all that really existed was himself, Riley, and occasionally Abigail as she came up to check on them every once in a while. They waited and waited, and still there was no call from the hospital.

At one point, the thought that whatever was happening to Riley was fatal crossed Ben's mind. He tried to push the thought back, to convince himself that his smart-alec, computer genius best friend was going to be all right. He always was.

But what if he wasn't? What if this time, Riley didn't pull through? Ben remembered the day of the techie's father's funeral, seeing him break down in front of Jeremy Poole's coffin. Would he break down too, in front of the coffin of his closest friend? The image was so plain and clear in his mind- he was inside of a church, an open coffin in front of him. Ben slowly approached it, an intense pain erupting inside of his chest, tearing him apart, when he saw the lifeless form of Riley inside of it. An immense feeling of dizziness came over him, his vision beginning to swarm as he felt himself beginning to fall…

No, this wasn't real. His vision cleared, realizing that he must have been more exhausted than he thought, feeling much better when he saw that Riley was lying on the bed in front of him, alive and breathing. He would be all right, he would make sure of it.

"Are you all right, Ben?"

Ben looked up at the sound of the quiet question, and he saw that Abigail was leaning against the doorway with a cup of coffee in her hands. "Um, yeah," he answered, rubbing his tired eyes. "Just, uh, thinking…"

"Could have fooled me," Abigail muttered with a small smile. "Charlie wants to talk with you."

"Couldn't it wait?" The treasure hunter's eyes moved to Riley, not wanting to leave him. Abigail moved into the room and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Go on, Ben," she told him quietly. "I'll watch after Riley."

Ben finally sighed and got to his feet, kissing his wife before taking a sip of her coffee. "Thanks," he said, glancing one last time at his best friend before reluctantly leaving the room. Ben slowly went down the stairs, his cramped legs hurting him with each step that he took, almost in a daze, blinking when he entered the lit kitchen that was much brighter compared to the Riley's dark room.

"Ah, Ben. There you are," Patrick said, preparing another cup of coffee for his son. "Have a seat."

Charlie watched as Ben sank down heavily into a chair at the table. "Thanks for coming down, Ben. I know it's hard to leave your best friend when he's in such ill health."

"You knew Riley's name," Ben muttered, the statement slipping from his mouth when the thought entered his mind. "How do you know Riley's name when we didn't tell you?"

"How long have you known Riley, Ben?" Charlie asked after a long pause.

Ben continued to stare at the doctor, not reacting when Patrick placed the coffee in front of him. "Since college," he answered.

Charlie sighed. "I've known Riley since he was born, Ben," he said, giving Patrick a look, who left the kitchen. Seeing the surprised look that Ben was giving him, he decided to continue. "Jeremy Poole was one of my best friends when I was growing up, along with Andrew Carson-!"

"The funeral home owner?" Ben intervened.

"Yes. It was a shame that he died," Charlie muttered. "But as I was saying, Jeremy only had three close friends his entire life, which were Andy, a man named Daniel Richards, and myself. We were so close that we were almost brothers. Now Jeremy was always telling us about some kind of family secret that is passed down from father to son or mother to daughter in the Poole family, normally to the oldest child."

"So, whatever this family secret is should be passed down to Dustin from Jeremy," Ben said, making sure he understood.

Charlie nodded. "In theory it should, but it's not," he told him. "After both of Jeremy's sons were born and growing up, something happened to change his mind. What happened I'm not exactly sure, but the treasure belongs to Riley."

"Treasure?" Ben asked, raising his eyebrows when his attention was caught. "What kind of treasure?"

"Before I get into that, I have a question for you," Charlie replied. "Does Riley trust you, Ben?"

Ben blinked with surprise at the question. "Yes. At least, I hope so. That's what he's told me…"

Charlie smiled slightly. "I figured he did, judging by what Andy told me of his loyalty to you," he commented. "When he gave you that first clue at the funeral home, Riley made sure you stayed with him. That's trust. But I asked because we were the three of us were the only ones that Jeremy trusted. As Dustin and Riley grew older, he only told the tale of the treasure to his oldest son, leaving out its location. That would be revealed later. But once they reached high school age, something happened where Jeremy decided that Dustin didn't deserve it. He believed the treasure has to be something that's earned through character."

"So, Riley unknowingly earned it?"

"That's right," Charlie nodded. "Once the boys were out of school, something drastically changed. Jeremy called us over for a secret meeting, and we began to write out clues that would chronologically lead to the treasure for Riley to discover since he believed that its location was no longer safe and he could no longer tell his younger son about it openly. We made a total of four clues, but he didn't keep them in case something should happen to him. He left one with Andy, which he was fortunately able t give to you before someone took his life, one to Daniel, and one to me. The final one, he hid himself. No one, not even us, knows exactly where it is. I believe that you found Daniel's clue since the museum had been broken into recently."

Ben smiled a little. "We weren't destructive when we broke in, but yes, we found it," he confirmed. "You couldn't possibly give me your clue, could you?"

Charlie's face darkened a little. "I don't have it, Ben. It's hidden just like the last one you found," he said. "We wrote those years ago. I forgot exactly what I put in it anyway. You'll have to solve the one you have before locating mine. But when you do solve mine, you will have the location of Jeremy's final clue, which will lead you to the treasure."

"The clue from the museum is in Hieroglyphics. It may take us a while," Ben muttered.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about Dan's interest in Hieroglyphics. Well, in that case…" Charlie took a pencil and a slip of paper out of his bag and quickly wrote a phone number down on it. "This is Daniel's phone number. When you call him, tell him your name and that you have been named the second."

"The second?" Ben asked, looking at the slip of paper that the retired doctor had given him. "What does that mean?"

Charlie sighed and leaned forward on the table, gesturing for Ben to do the same in case they could be overheard. "Jeremy was a man who liked to keep things in order," he answered quietly, "even with us. He knew Andy the longest, so he was the first beneath Jeremy. I knew him the second longest, so I was named the third. Daniel knew him the least amount of time, so he was named the fourth."

Ben's eyes narrowed with confusion. "So, why am I suddenly named the second? I didn't even know Jeremy."

"Jeremy loved his sons, Ben. They meant more to him than anything," Charlie told him. "When he gave us our titles, he purposely skipped the second place because he believed that Riley, being the rightful owner of the treasure, should choose the one to fill that position. He chose you, Ben, no matter how unknowingly he did so."

"So, what are you guys? Some sort of secret society or something?"

"If you want to call us that, you may," Charlie said with a smirk. "Since Jeremy was murdered, it was Andy's responsibility to keep an eye on Riley and make sure that he was able to follow the trail that his father had laid out for him. Now that he's gone, that responsibility now lies with you, Ben. If, for some reason, you are unable to do that, then Daniel and I will take over. But it appears that Jeremy's security will need to be in effect after all. Someone may be after Riley already…"

Ben nodded, thinking all of this information over while he finally took a sip of the coffee that his father had made for him. "You keep mentioning a treasure. What kind of treasure is this?" he wondered.

Before Charlie could answer, the loud sound of the phone reached their ears, making both men jump. From the living room, they heard Patrick answer it. Then, after a minute, the older Gates cautiously came into the kitchen with the phone. "Charlie, it's for you. It's the hospital calling. They're done with their analysis."

"Thank you." Charlie took the phone and put to his ear. "Doctor Charles Harrison." The retired doctor listened for a long time, his face an impassive mask. "All right. Thank you," he finally said. "Bye."

"What did they say?" Ben asked anxiously as soon as Charlie hung up the phone.

Charlie gave the phone back to Patrick, who as also awaiting the news, and turned to the treasure hunter with a sigh. "Don't be alarmed; it wasn't a fatal amount, but only enough to make him ill," he said immediately so that both Ben and Patrick would calm down. "What the doctors found in Riley's bloodstream was arsenic."

**A/N**: Hm… The plot is getting more complex (don't worry, more will be clear from this point onward!). But as the plot gets more in detail, I'm turning more and more into Ben! We were in physics yesterday, talking about circular motion and the difference of the rotation of Earth versus its revolution, and my teacher asked if any of us knew how time zones originated. I was the only one who raised my hand, and I felt like Ben as I explained it to him. Again, that's what being in AP History does to you. But anyway, things will begin to pull together next chapter. I hope you liked this one, even though it was kind of short and had minimal Riley in it. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from National Treasure is mine. However, the plot and my characters are.

**A/N**: Omg, this chapter took me forever to write since I've had so much homework and everything has been so hectic! I'm so sorry, everyone! But the good news is, here I am and here's the next chapter. Lol! Thank you so much to **daisyduke80**, **Save the Elmo**, **Zxully** **anti-nostalgic**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Sakoko-chan**, **Small-Fri**, **Halo**, **Miss Fenway**, **fantomfairy**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Majestik Moose**, and **Harm Marie** for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! Oh, and you will also love this chapter because Riley is back! Yay! Okay, anyway, on with the chapter!

Chapter 13

Ben was horrified at the doctor's statement, even though he had said that the amount wasn't fatal. Arsenic, the same substance that had killed Jeremy Poole, was now in Riley's body and was causing him agonizing pain. But then his horror melted to anger when he realized that the person who had taken the older man's life was now causing him that pain. What made the situation even worse was that if what Charlie said was true, Riley didn't even know why this harm had come to him.

"The most we can do is allow the arsenic to leave his system, which will take a couple of days," Charlie said when he saw the mood change on Ben's face. "We can keep giving him pain killers and fever reducers to help him through, but the main thing we have to do is wait."

"I just don't understand why someone would go so far as to kill someone and then do this," Ben muttered angrily, shaking his head. "No treasure is worth so much."

"Someone obviously believes that it is," Patrick told him, not making his son feel much better especially since he wasn't sure exactly what he was talking about.

Ben shook his head again with a sigh. "Riley could give us some insight if only he was conscious. Then we would find out exactly what happened between him and Dustin-!"

"Dustin?" Charlie asked, his voice taking on a sharp tone that had never been in it before as he interrupted the treasure hunter. "Riley was with Dustin?"

"Yes," Ben answered with a nod, "today as we left the morgue downtown. Dustin forced him into a taxi, but he wasn't with him for too long of a time before I was able to get him back. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that before…"

"Were they alone?" Charlie continued his interrogation.

"All except for the taxi driver," Ben confirmed, "who is a friend of Dustin."

"We need to find out what transpired between them," Charlie whispered with worry, mainly to himself. "If anything, he can tell us for sure if Jeremy's suspicions were correct."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley blinked, hoping that if his vision cleared the space around him wouldn't be so dark. Or cramped. But the more he blinked, the darker and smaller the world around him got. What was going on? Where was he?

Suddenly, he cried out loudly when a terrible pain erupted inside of his stomach. Riley dropped to his knees, his arms clamped around his abdomen as his breathing became more labored. Where had this pain come from so suddenly?

"Riley…"

The techie quickly looked up and gasped, knowing that voice anywhere. He saw that an older man was sitting on a wooden chair in front of him, a small smile on his face. "Dad…" Riley muttered in a whisper, almost longingly.

Jeremy Poole didn't respond to his son, nor did his expression change as he gazed at him. Wondering why he was being so impassive, Riley reached out a shaking hand toward him, but cried out in surprise when the older man suddenly fell limply from the chair. The techie stared in horror at his father's lifeless form, only averting his gaze when he heard an almost cruel laughter from behind the chair that the man had previously occupied. Though it was almost impossible, his eyes got even wider than they had previously been.

"Dustin?"

"Hello, Riley," his older brother said with a smirk. "I hope you don't mind about this." He gestured to their father's motionless form. "I also hope you enjoy that treat I gave you earlier."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked weakly. But then, he knew exactly what Dustin meant when his stomach burned furiously. He cried out again and bent over, tears falling from behind his eyes as his brother's laughter and his own pained scream echoed loudly in his ears.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Abigail's eyes suddenly shot open when she heard a loud scream. She quickly sat up when she realized that she had falling asleep leaning against the bed, and she saw that Riley was violently tossing and turning in his sleep.

"Riley," she said anxiously, placing her hands on his arms and gently shaking him. "Riley!"

The techie muttered incoherently in his sleep, and after a few more minutes of anxiously struggling, his eyes slowly opened. Riley smiled a little when a smiling Abigail was the first thing he saw, but then he grimaced in pain and curled up on the bed. "Ow…"

Abigail quickly got to her feet and ran into the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs. "Ben!" she shouted down to the kitchen. "Ben, Riley's awake!"

She heard quick footsteps come from the kitchen, and she rushed back into Riley's room to check on him. A moment later, Ben, Patrick, and Charlie appeared in the room. "Riley?" Ben asked, moving over to the bed and sitting down with Abigail beside him. He was relieved when he was met with a pair of tired, deep blue eyes. "It's good to see you awake."

"Well, maybe it's not as great as it's cracked up to be," Riley muttered, trying to be as sarcastic as he could as his arms tightened around his stomach. "At least I couldn't feel this strange and terrible pain as badly before. I don't even know how this came about…"

Charlie then approached the bed and sat down on Riley's other side, placing his hand on the younger man's forehead to check his temperature. "Patrick, can I have that fever reducer and some pain medication that your wife packed?" he asked.

Patrick nodded, giving an encouraging nod to Riley before he left the room. Riley blankly looked up at the three people sitting above him, and then he sighed heavily. "You're all looking at me as though I'm going to die," he commented. Then, in a quick afterthought, added, "I'm not going to die, am I?"

"No, Riley. No," Abigail told him reassuringly, reaching forward and taking his hand in hers. "You're going to be just fine."

"Riley, we need you to tell us what happened between you and your brother in the taxi this afternoon," Charlie suddenly said, a serious look in the doctor's eyes.

"How do you know about that since I don't even know who you are?" Riley wondered, looking up at him suspiciously.

Ben placed his hand on Riley's shoulder, watching as his best friend looked back at him with confusion. "It's all right, Riley. Please tell us," he muttered. "This man is a friend of your father."

Riley sighed, closing his eyes for a minute. He was exhausted and wanted to go back to sleep. Not to mention that what had happened earlier that day was painful for him to think about. He took a deep breath, almost in annoyance. "It's just what I told you before, Ben," he finally muttered. "Dustin pulled me into the taxi, we talked for a while, he pulled out a gun at one point, and then he told me to give him what we found in the museum. That's it."

"Did he give you something to eat?" Charlie wondered. Ben glanced at him, knowing where he was taking the conversation.

"No. Well, just a cookie," Riley said. "Dustin made them for the funeral dinner yesterday, but since I wasn't there, he saved some for me…"

Charlie sighed. "I don't think he meant that, Riley," he muttered. "While you were unconscious, I took a sample of your blood and sent it to the hospital to be analyzed."

"Were you the one who was pressing on my stomach too?" Riley asked suspiciously.

"Yes, and I'm sorry that I had to do that to you, Riley. It was the only way I could see what was wrong with you."

"You'd better be sorry. That hurt."

"Anyway," Charlie stressed impatiently while Ben secretly smirked, "the hospital just called recently and told me that you had traces of arsenic in your bloodstream. I believe that it was in the cookie that Dustin gave you."

Riley's face darkened. "Dustin's my brother," he told him defensively. "There's no way that he would purposely hurt me-!"

"Did he eat one of the cookies?" Charlie interrupted abruptly.

"Well, no, but-!"

"How about the taxi driver? He's a friend of Dustin."

"No…"

Charlie raised an eyebrow, and Ben watched sadly as pain appeared on his best friend's face that he knew wasn't coming from the arsenic. "So… you're saying that Dustin poisoned me?" he asked in disbelief. When he didn't get a response from the doctor, he decided to continue on. "Why would he do that? I mean… he's my brother! He wouldn't… What's going on? I'm so confused…"

Ben thought over the information from the events that had occurred ever since Riley's father died. Jeremy Poole had truly been murdered with small dosages of arsenic over a long period of time, Andy Carson had given Riley a clue which had cost him and his secretary their lives, they had broken into the downtown museum and found another clue, Dustin had kidnapped Riley and demanded that he give him the second clue, and then Dustin had poisoned Riley with arsenic.

The more he thought about it, the more two of the events in the sequence stood out to him. Jeremy Poole had been murdered with arsenic, and Dustin had given Riley an amount of the same substance that wasn't fatal. Was it possible that the older Poole had done both? He didn't want to mention his thought aloud because of the impact that it would have on Riley, but it was a possibility that he couldn't ignore. 

And either way, Dustin was going to pay for what he did to his best friend.

"I know that look," Riley suddenly muttered, looking at the treasure hunter warily. "What are you thinking about, Ben?"

"Oh. Nothing, Riley," Ben told him quietly, forcing a smile to prove his point. "Nothing…"

Charlie sighed, slowly getting to his feet. "Well, I think I've done all I can do for now," he said, his words mainly directed at Riley. "You'll be in some pain for a few days until the arsenic completely leaves your system, but I know that Patrick has you covered with medication. With that and a lot of rest, you should be fine. Ben, feel free to call me if his condition changes, and remember everything that I told you."

Ben nodded, seeing Riley's confused expression out of the corner of his eye. "I will. Thank you, Charlie," he said, watching as the old doctor left the room and nearly ran into his dad in the hall.

"Sorry that it took me so long to get you these, Riley," Patrick hurriedly apologized as he sat down on the bed and offered him a glass of water and two pills. "Emily packed so much that it took a while to decide what to give you."

"That's all right. Thanks for bringing them." Riley took the water and downed both pills, finishing most of the water before handing the glass back to the older man. Then, he lay back against the pillow and groaned softly, clutching his stomach. "It hurts…"

Ben placed his hand on Riley's tense shoulder with worry, looking up at his wife and meeting her gaze. "We should probably call Sadusky to at least do an investigation on Dustin Poole," he muttered. "That would probably be best."

Abigail nodded, failing at stifling a yawn. "I'll get right on that, Ben."

But Patrick shook his head. "You look exhausted, Abigail," he commented softly. "Go and get some sleep. I'll call the FBI. Then, I think I'll crash on the couch."

"Are you sure?" Abigail asked. She wanted sleep more than anything, but Riley's safety came first.

Patrick nodded, and Abigail tightly hugged her father-in-law. Then, she wandered over to the bed and ran her hand through Riley's hair before kissing Ben. "See you soon?" she said, her tone making it more of a statement than a question.

Ben slowly nodded. "Yeah, see you soon."

Abigail gazed at her husband skeptically before finally muttering, "Please come to bed soon, Ben." Then, she looked at Riley one last time and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room with Patrick. Ben sighed and ran his hand through his hair stressfully. He was exhausted, but he was also reluctant to leave Riley. His attention was suddenly switched to his best friend when his movement caught his eyes.

"Ben, do you really believe that Dustin is the one who…" Riley began to ask, but was cut off when he grimace form the immense pain in his stomach.

"I don't know, Riley," Ben answered him quietly, though he had his own thoughts about the older Poole. "I don't know."

Riley's eyes had closed and his breathing had become steady as he didn't answer, so Ben assumed that the younger man had fallen asleep. But he was wrong.

"Ben, I don't feel so good."

Ben smiled sadly as he squeezed the techie's shoulder reassuringly. "I know, Riley. Just hang in there, all right?" he muttered. "You'll be just fine."

"You know what? Just go get some sleep," Riley told him without opening his eyes. "I don't want you staying up all night because of me."

"Are you sure? What if you need something?"

"Trust me. You'll know."

Ben laughed a little. "All right then, if that's what you want," he said, getting to his feet. In truth, he was anxious to join Abigail, though his first priority was the health of his best friend. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep," Riley sleepily agreed as the older man headed toward the door. "Oh, one more thing, Ben."

The treasure hunter stopped in the doorway, prepared to get him whatever he wanted. "Yeah?"

"Remind me to never get kidnapped again."

**A/N**: This was more of a recap, realization chapter. The plot will move farther along in the next one. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movie is mine, except for the idea, Dustin, and Nick. So, no suing!

**A/N**: All right! To make up for my rather long leave of absence before, I bring you another update. I'm just glad that all my homework is done and the weather is all right and that I had a free period in school today so that I could get the next chapter on. Lol. So, thank you so, so much to **L.R. Meriadoc**, **daisyduke80**, **fantomfairy**, **ink0and0paper**, **Save the Elmo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Halo**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Majestik Moose**, and **Harm Marie** for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! So, without any further ado, let's get this chapter rolling!

Chapter 14

Ben lay awake in bed, his gaze resting on the ceiling of his dark bedroom. His anxious mind wouldn't allow him to sleep because of all the thoughts that were running through it- Riley may wake up and be in pain, the revenge that Dustin was possibly going to receive, and the nagging, underline feeling that someone else besides Nick was working with Dustin. He'd had the feeling ever since the murder of Andy, and it had only grown when he saw the damage that had been done to the museum. It was driving him crazy because both were done in a style he recognized so well…

"What's going on, Ben? It's really late."

The treasure hunter looked to his left and saw that Abigail was awake and looked tiredly at him with concern. Ben slowly turned on to his side to face her. "I'm just thinking," he without feeling.

Abigail smirked. "I could have told you that," she said with some sarcastic humor that was characteristic of Riley. "Come on, Ben. What's on your mind?"

For the first time that he could remember, Ben hesitated. Never before had he hesitated to tell anyone he loved anything, especially his wife. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He just didn't want to alarm her with the thoughts that were uncharacteristic of him.

"Ben," Abigail muttered simply, her expression hurt when she recognized his hesitance as she propped herself up on her arm. "What is so horrible that you can't even tell me? I don't think I'm going to be in any danger."

"It's just… I don't know…" Ben began, but ended in a sigh. He looked into Abigail's eyes, smiling a little. "If I told you that, I would have to kill you." Another one of Riley's famous lines.

Abigail sighed heavily, not seeming to be as amused by the comment as Ben was. "Ben, please. You know that you can tell me anything. I'm your wife," she said. "What is it that's bothering you so greatly?"

Ben sighed in defeat as he gazed at Abigail's determined expression. "It's about Dustin…" he slowly began.

"That's one thing you don't have to worry about," Abigail told him soothingly, putting her head on his pillow beside his. "Your dad called the FBI, and Sadusky is looking into the situation as we speak. He'll call us in the morning."

"I'm not worried about if we'll catch him or not, I'm concerned about his relation to the murder of Jeremy Poole," Ben replied.

"Do you really think that he would kill his own father?" Abigail asked, skeptical about the idea. "The man that raised him on his own, along with Riley?"

"With the right motive… possibly," Ben answered. "Charlie told me about this treasure that belongs to the Poole family, and the ownership is passed down from the father or mother to their oldest child. Dustin should have gotten it, but something happened to cause Jeremy to leave it to Riley."

Abigail's face darkened with confusion. "So, are you thinking that Dustin killed their father because he doesn't have the supposed rightful ownership of the treasure?"

Ben nodded. "It could be."

"I think it would just be best if we wait to hear what Sadusky's report on him is," Abigail said slowly. "Then we'll know for sure what actually happened."

"We can also talk to Riley about the treasure tomorrow," Ben added. "Charlie gave me a number to call so we can find out more."

Abigail nodded, but she noticed that her husband was still tense. "Ben, what else is on your mind?"

Ben sighed, unable to figure out how Abigail always knew when something was wrong. "There has to be someone else working with Dustin and his friend," he finally told her. "I've met Dustin, and he doesn't seem to be the type to be able to come up with a mastermind plot to break in somewhere and steal something. The break-in at the museum was in a style that I know. There has to be someone else who's an expert in that field. Dustin will carry out any plan, but there has to be another brain behind it…"

"Ben, who could it be?" Abigail asked with a small laugh. "I just think that you're being paranoid about this. Who out there would be an expert at breaking into places that's not already in jail?"

She had a point. But the suspicion had been in his mind too long, and it wasn't going to leave. "We'll discuss that in the morning too," he muttered. "I want Riley to be there."

Abigail shrugged, realizing that it must have been a family matter. "Fair enough," she said as she closed her eyes. "Just wait until tomorrow when you find out there's nothing to worry about."

Ben sighed, pulling his wife closer to him. Her presence was comforting, and even though there was a lot on his mind, he was asleep in a few minutes.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he looked around the dark room. Suddenly, he closed his eyes again, and he cried out in surprise when the curtains were thrown open and bright light was thrown into the room.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Abigail exclaimed to him cheerfully, walking over to the bed from the window and placing her hand on Riley's forehead. "Can I get you anything to eat?"

"Um, no thanks, Abi," Riley muttered, still blinking as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden sunlight. "I'm not hungry…"

Concerned, Abigail sat on the bed beside him. "Did you get a good night's sleep?" she asked.

Riley sighed heavily as his face darkened. "Uh, about that… I did, but I… I heard what you and Ben were talking about last night. Dustin, the treasure… everything."

Abigail's heart sank when she heard his words. "Oh. Well…" she muttered uncomfortably. "I wouldn't dread on it too much, Riley. Ben's just… over-speculating again."

"It's all right, Abi," Riley replied quietly, trying to act as though it wasn't a big deal. "I've had dreams where Dustin has… you know… But I didn't know they could actually be what happened. And I've never heard anything about this treasure."

"That's because you weren't supposed to. Rightfully, it belongs to Dustin, but something happened where your father decided to leave it to you."

Abigail and Riley quickly turned to the open doorway and saw that Ben was leaning against it. "What do you mean, Ben?" Riley asked. "What is this about a treasure?"

"I don't know too much myself, but I do know that the ownership of it has been passed down to the oldest child in your bloodline for years," Ben answered. "From what I've deduced, no one has actually discovered it yet, or at least hasn't taken anything, but your father left very specific guides to find it. I think that this treasure was meant for you."

"Any reason that Dustin isn't getting it except that he may have possibly killed our dad?" Riley muttered, trying to pass it off as sarcasm. But deep down, he was noticeably trying to keep his voice under control.

Ben sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "All I know is that the treasure has to be earned by character," he told him quietly. "I think to answer that, you'll have to tell us more about Dustin."

Riley closed his eyes for a long moment, finally opening them again as he looked up at his best friend. Then, he slowly sat up with a little help from Abigail and leaned against the headrest of the bed, wrapping the blanket around himself to keep the chill away. "I think I've told you this before, Ben, but Dustin and I have always had a rivalry that began when we both had a crush on the Pink Ranger."

Abigail smirked. "Pink Ranger?"

"Shut up. Anyway, as we got older after my mom died, Dustin and I got closer to each other through elementary and middle school. That's really the only time that the rivalry did not exist," Riley continued. "There were times where Dad would be gone on a business trip, and Dustin helped to raise me whenever we had a babysitter. We would get into a lot of trouble with her…

"But once we reached high school, or at least when Dustin did, everything changed. Dad got a new job so he was home whenever we were, which gave Dustin and I less excuse to do things together. Then, he began to get new friends who weren't that great of an influence, and he began to completely change. He was failing all of his classes, began to skip them all together, stayed out way longer than Dad told him to, skipped out on his grounding, fought with Dad and I a lot, shoplifted, things like that. He didn't go to college or even finish high school, but he studied history in his free time… which was a lot."

"_No wonder Riley unknowingly earned the treasure,"_ Ben thought to himself, unable to see the techie doing any of the things he mentioned that his brother had done. "Was Nick one of those friends that he met in high school?" he asked.

Riley shook his head. "No," he answered. "He met Nick a few years after he dropped out of high school. Now, don't ask me anything about Nick because I don't know much about him. All I know is that he was born here in the states, moved with his mom to England because of her job when he was in second grade, where she also married a guy who had a son that was older than Nick, and then he came back here after he graduated from college. I've never met Nick's family since, well, they're in England! I think Nick told me once that his step-brother came back to the states too, but I've never actually met or seen him."

Ben nodded. He had heard Nick talk at the funeral for Jeremy Poole, and he remembered him having slight traces of an English accent that was hardly noticeable.

"I also heard you mention something about there being a third person that's in league with Dustin," Riley muttered as he looked from Ben to Abigail and back, anxious to change the subject. "Do you have any idea who what might be?"

Abigail glanced at Ben nervously, unsure of what he was going to say. The treasure hunter met her gaze, and then sighed heavily. "I do."

"Well, who is it?"

Ben opened his mouth to answer his best friend's question, but before he could get the name out, the echoing sound of the doorbell reached their ears. He got to his feet and left the room, assuming that Patrick had left already since the downstairs area was empty, and opened the front door.

"Sadusky? I thought you were going to call," Ben said.

"I was, but I thought that it would be best if I came in person," Sadusky told him. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Ben opened the door all the way, allowing the FBI agent to step inside, and then closed the door behind him. "Did you get any information about Dustin Poole?"

Sadusky sighed and leaned against the back of the couch, his arms crossed. "We were able to locate his residence and sent some of our men there," he told him, "but I'm afraid that I have some bad news."

**A/N**: Time for a cliffie! Lol. So, who do you think this third person is (if there even is one)? You'll have to leave me your guesses! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: Okay, guys. Ben, Riley, Abigail, and anyone else that you recognize from the movie(s) are not mine. Everyone else and the idea are. Oh, and I don't own Avril Lavigne either.

**A/N**: Ugh. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to update too quickly lately. I've been sick with the flu and haven't been able to get to a computer. But, the upside to that is I have I think the next four chapters completely written, so the plot is really moving along on my end. So, if all goes well and I'm not too busy to get to a computer, updates should be coming a little more quickly. Thank you sooooo much to **Miss Fenway**, **daisyduke80**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Harm Marie**, **Mischieftheblackwolf**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Save the Elmo**, and **Halo** for your wonderful reviews. Also, special thanks to **Halo** for helping me out with some plot stuff and to **daisyduke80** for giving me a song to use for this story. You're awesome! So, without further ado, I bring you the next chapter!

Chapter 15

In the city's downtown prison, prisoners are only checked on three times every week. That's when they are given fresh food and water, and maybe even get the chance to see the sun for a short while. But at night when they are _not_ being checked on, it is the perfect time for someone who has outside help to escape.

Thursday morning was one of the three days that the prisoners got their necessities. Two new guards that didn't quite know which prisoner belonged to which cell yet were delivering the food that morning. When they got to the one at the end of the row, where a guard should have been posted at, they knocked on the door to announce their arrival like they had done with ever cell. But this time, the heavy metal door slowly swung open with an eerie creek. The two guards cautiously leaned into the strangely unlocked cell, horrified to see that it was empty except for the guard that had been watching over it lying dead on the floor with a small slip of paper on top of his body.

"Alert the other guards," the guard who seemed to have more authority said quickly, pushing the other down the hall. "This building is going on lockdown."

As his partner hurried away to do as he was instructed, the guard slowly entered the dark cell and carefully picked up the paper left behind, reading over the three words that were written neatly on it.

_Ha. Nice try._

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben's face darkened when he heard the agent's statement. "What do you mean bad news?" he asked quietly.

"As I told you, we tracked down Dustin's home, but it was abandoned," Sadusky answered. "We then went to Nick Baron's residence, which was also empty. The reason that I didn't call you like I said I would was because we found evidence of phone tapping from both of their landlines. After what you told me about what happened yesterday between Dustin and Riley, I didn't want to take the chance that it was your phone that was being monitored."

"Smart decision," Ben muttered, thinking this new development over.

Sadusky's eyes softened with sorrow. "We also found traces of left-over containers of arsenic scattered around Dustin's house, so he must have left in a hurry," he told him. "I'm confident that's what he used on Riley, but there were enough containers where he could have poisoned someone over a long period of time. I know that's your suspicion about what happened to Riley's father, Ben, and it's starting to appear that way."

Ben sighed, running his hand through his hair. With the evidence that was being compiled, it truly seemed to appear that Dustin had murdered his own father… And the face that he was running was another strike against him. Then, he looked behind him when he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, and he saw that Abigail was slowly coming down the steps, awkwardly supporting a weak Riley. Ben rushed over to them and took the techie from his wife, able to bring him quickly down the rest of the way and gently lay him down on the couch.

"Thanks, Ben," Riley muttered, making himself comfortable on the cushions. His face was slightly pale from the effort of getting out of bed and coming all of the way down the stairs.

Sadusky smiled sadly when he saw Riley, but was stopped before he could say anything by his cell phone ringing. Sighing with irritation, he quickly took it out. "Sadusky."

"So, what did he say, Ben?" Abigail asked with the agent listened to whoever had called him, taking her husband's hand.

"Dustin wasn't at his home, nor was Nick," Ben answered her, recapping what the FBI agent had told him. "He also thinks that they may have been tapping phone lines, most likely ours and Riley's. At Dustin's place, they found empty arsenic containers that could have been used to poison someone over a long period of time, probably Jeremy Poole."

Abigail covered her mouth in horror at the report, and Ben saw that a thin line of tears had formed in Riley's eyes. Seeing those tears made Ben all the more determined to make Dustin pay for what he had done.

"_What_?!" Sadusky suddenly demanded, outraged as he startled the three friends. "What do you mean one of the prisoners has escaped? You just noticed this _now_?!" Ben's face paled at the question.

"Who is it?" the agent continued heatedly. There was a moment of silence where he listened intently, and then his face got even angrier. "Well, find out immediately and don't call me back until you do!" Then, he snapped his phone shut.

"What was that all about?" Riley asked curiously, able to feel the extent of Sadusky's anger and relieved that he wasn't the poor officer on the other end of the phone.

"One of the higher security prisoners in the downtown prison has escaped," Sadusky explained with a growl. "They put the building on lockdown, but it was too late. The guards only check on the prisoners three times a week, so my guess that whoever it was had to escape over the last couple of days since they were all accounted for during the last check."

"_Probably sometime around the time the museum was broken into…" _Ben thought, but before he could say it aloud, Sadusky's phone rang again.

The FBI agent quickly answered it. "Yes?" There was another silence. "Now you're saying that _two_ have escaped?! Have you found out who the first one you called me about is yet?"

Ben watched the agent carefully, seeing the flicker of concern or fear, not sure of which, that flashed through his eyes. "All right. Put out an alert immediately. Direct anyone who sights him to my number." Then, he ended the call.

"Who is it, Sadusky?" Ben muttered, almost hesitant to know the answer.

Sadusky sighed. "Well, it would probably be best if you lie low for a while…"

"Who is it, Sadusky?" Ben repeated, annoyed by his beating around the bush.

The agent met Ben's gaze and sighed, the name almost forced from his mouth. "Ian Howe."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben looked around him anxiously, finding that he was strangely alone. That was odd. Hadn't Abigail and Riley just been with him as he moved through the house? Now, they were gone…

"Abigail? Riley?" he shouted, hoping that he would get some sort of response but didn't. "Riley! Abigail!"

Suddenly, his own house dissolved around him and was replaced with a smaller living room. Ben quickly looked around, his eyes landing on a strangely crooked picture hanging on the wall. He slowly approached it, reaching out a shaking hand to straighten it out.

"Don't move, Ben."

Ben froze at the sound of the familiar voice, and then he slowly turned around and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. He raised his eyes from the weapon and looked into the eyes of the man behind it.

"Ian."

"Hello, Ben," Ian said with an almost cold smile. "How about you give me that next clue now and we'll continue on?"

Ben was instantly confused but on alert. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ian," he told him. "I don't have it. I don't even know where we are!"

Ian's smirk widened. "Wrong answer, Ben." Then, he lowered his gun and moved to the side, revealing Dustin and Nick standing behind him, each having a weapon in their hands. On the floor before the older Poole and his best friend were Riley and Abigail. Ian nodded to them, and Dustin loaded the weapon and placed his gun against the side of Riley's head while Nick did the same with Abigail, both of their fingers resting dangerously over the triggers.

"No!" Ben cried, taking a step toward them. "Don't hurt them. I'll do whatever you want! Please!"

"Give me the clue, Ben," Ian said icily. "That's all I ask. Just give me the clue, and no one will get hurt."

Ben felt his heart nearly stop. The one thing that his former friend wanted, he didn't have…

"I have it!" Riley suddenly snapped angrily from his position on the floor, wincing a little when Dustin pressed the gun harder against his head. "Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say that I have the clue?!"

"Riley, don't speak again," Ian told him, giving him a dangerous look. Then, he turned back to Ben. "Now. Give me that clue, Ben."

Ben only stared back at him, fear blossoming in his chest. For the first time, he didn't know what to do.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben's eyes quickly shot open as he woke with a start, taking a deep sigh of relief when he realized that it had just been a bad dream. He was in his own house, Abigail was sleeping peacefully beside him, Riley was safe in the room across the hall, and Ian was locked up in jail.

Wait. The treasure hunter suddenly remembered the earlier conversation that they had had with Sadusky, learning that Ian had escaped from prison and was out in the city somewhere, which is was what probably brought the dream on. That thought making his mind feel even more anxious after the dream he had just had, Ben carefully got out of bed and wandered into the hallway to get something to drink from the kitchen downstairs.

He stopped with confusion when he saw a light coming from Riley's room, the soft sound of a song that he didn't recognize but had a beautiful tune reaching his ears:

"_You're not alone,_

_Together we stand._

_I'll be by your side,_

_You know I'll take your hand._

_When it gets cold,_

_And it feels like the end,_

_There's no place to go,_

_You know I won't give in."_

Ben slowly entered the room, seeing that Riley was on his laptop, just when the chorus of the song began to play.

"_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through._

_Just stay strong,_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you._

_There's nothin' you can say,_

_There's nothin' you can do,_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth._

_So keep holding on, _

'_Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."_

Riley suddenly looked up from the laptop and saw that his best friend was standing in the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ben. Did I wake you?" he asked, immediately stopping the song.

"No, Riley," Ben answered quietly as he sat down in the chair beside the bed, seeing that Riley had pulled up a bunch of pictures of the two of them. "I just had a bad dream. What are you doing?"

"I'm compiling pictures of us to send to my aunt who just recently moved to New Delhi, India because she's always asking me if I'm really friends with the great Benjamin Gates. This is my proof," Riley told him. "I also told her that you would sign some for her." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the look of confusion that Ben was giving him, so he quickly added, "I would print the out first, of course."

Ben smiled and laughed a little. Riley was one of the strangest people he had ever met, but he was also one of the best friends that he had ever had. He was definitely starting to feel like his little brother, especially since he could always tell when the younger man was making something up because he didn't want to talk. Then, his eyes narrowed when he noticed that something was hanging around Riley's neck, hovering very close to his heart. "I've never seen that before, Riley. What is it?"

Riley glanced away from the screen at the sound of his question. "What?" Then, he noticed what he was looking at, and he grabbed the pendant as he made to put it under his shirt. "Oh, this? Nothing…"

But Ben stopped his arm, and Riley reluctantly opened his hand to let his best friend view what was resting in it. It was a cross made of jade with silver lining its edges and intertwining to make ribbon-like patterns over the shape. It was beautiful.

"This is just something that my dad gave me before I moved out of the house," Riley explained once Ben was done looking at it. "He told me to always wear it close to my heart, so I have. You guys have just never seen it. Now, Ben, what's this about a nightmare you had?"

Ben sighed, almost having forgotten about it wound would have if the younger man wouldn't have brought it up. "It was about Ian," he told him.

Riley looked at his best friend for a long minute, sighing as he set his laptop on the bed beside him. "You think that Ian is working with Dustin, don't you?" he asked.

"He's an expert at breaking in… and out… of places and tracking down treasure. Plus, he's determined," Ben answered, his anxieties rising once more. "He could be working with your brother to-!"

"Ben, consider this," Riley interrupted, using his hand motions to emphasize his point. "If Ian were to break out of jail, which he has, would he really waste his time meddling in some messed up family affairs? I don't think so. He would be coming after you and your family instead, not me."

"_You are my family," _Ben wanted to say, but he held the comment in. Riley was right, of course, but he was forgetting about the treasure. That would be enough for Ian to forget about Ben and concentrate on the Poole family… at least for the time being.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Ben returned to more important matters at hand. "Why don't you get some sleep, Riley?" he suggested, able to tell from the techie's face that he was exhausted. "Charlie even said that you would get better faster with the more rest you got."

"Yeah, I guess," Riley muttered with the air of a pouting child that didn't want to go to bed as he took off his glasses and closed his laptop. "My eyes are getting tired anyway."

Ben smiled slightly as he watched his best friend lay down beneath the covers and snuggle comfortably into his pillow, his eyes closing almost immediately. "Good night, Riley."

"Good night, Ben."

After making sure that he wouldn't disturb Riley, Ben got to his feet and moved his friend's laptop off the bed before he went into the hall, stopping with surprise when he saw Abigail standing in the doorway of their room. "Feeling better now?" she asked.

"How did you know?" Ben muttered, putting his arm around her waist.

Abigail smiled up at him. "I woke up when you did," she told him. "You think I didn't notice when you had your nightmare?"

Ben smiled in returned. "Abigail, you're amazing," he said quietly. Then, he leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Abigail returned. Then, she took his hand and pulled him back into their room. "Come on. You need to get some sleep. I just think you're being paranoid about Ian, Ben."

"Maybe…"

The couple lay down together, Abigail in her husband's arms in an almost protective way. Ben placed his head closer to his wife, his face nearly in her golden hair, his thoughts moving away from Ian as he smelled its sweet scent. Hearing his wife's calming breathing, Ben finally allowed his anxious mind to rest as he slipped back into sleep.

**A/N**: Once again, thank you, **Halo**, for helping me sort some things out with Ian. That has been very, very helpful! Thank you to everyone that has been reading, and I'm just warning you (well, not really _warning_, but…) that there were some very important things in this chapter that you have to keep in mind as the story moves further. Also, this is just kind of funny, but I noticed that up until this point, I haven't had Abigail and Ben say, "I love you" to each other, even though they were married. So, I just threw it in there finally! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: Riley and everyone else from the actual movies aren't mine. Everyone else is.

**A/N**: All right. Now I can update faster because of those two days I was sick at home. The good news is, the chapters from here on out are gonna' be pretty long I think, so that's good. At least they're long in my notebook. But, thank you very much to **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **Rose of Hope**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Miss Fenway**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Majestik Moose**, **Sakoko-chan**, **fantomfairy**, **Mysterious Reviewer**, and** AliuIce0814** for your wonderful reviews. They really brighten up my day! All right. So, onto the next chapter, shall we?

Chapter 16

The next couple of days went by uneventfully. There was no sign that the infamous Ian Howe had escaped from prison except for all of the alerts on the television and radio, telling everyone to be cautious if they went out after nine at night. Abigail had started going back to work at the National Archives Building, and Riley's health was improving as the days went by. He was finally able to walk around the house on his own, and he even began to eat small amounts of food without it coming back up. His sarcastic humor was also beginning to return, which was a relief and an annoyance to both Ben and Abigail, and he was growing more cheerful as his stomach grew less painful by the day.

The third day after news of Ian's escape, a gentle rain was granting a generous reprieve from the harsh summer heat. Ben was sitting in the kitchen as evening drew nearer, waiting for Abigail to return home for dinner. He was deep in thought, but was then drawn back to reality when he heard the front door suddenly open and close. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was only five. Abigail wouldn't be home for another half hour yet. The front door was also locked, so what had happened? Then, it hit him.

_Riley._

Ben quickly got to his feet and ran out the door, seeing that Riley was standing outside in the rain. He was merely looking up at the sky, not paying attention to anything else around him as he allowed the drops of water to run down his face. "What are you doing out here, Riley?" the older man asked, alarmed. "We juts got your fever down. You're going to get yourself sick again!"

Startled, Riley quickly turned around to see who had joined him. Seeing that it was only Ben, he turned back around with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm all right, Ben," he answered. "Just trying to get some things off my mind."

"If this is about Dustin…" Ben began hesitantly, but stopped when Riley shook his head.

"No. That whole thing actually hasn't sunk in yet," the younger man muttered, still not able to believe that his own brother would kill their father. "My dad always said that rain washes away unwanted thoughts- a kind of cleansing of your mind, I guess you could say."

Ben smiled slightly, walking forward and standing next to his best friend in the gentle rain. "Cleansing of your mind, huh?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah," he told him. "Rain is also a way of washing away bad things you have done. If Dustin and I ever got into a fight when it was raining, I would always stand outside in it because I felt so bad. Dustin would join me after a while, and we would become brothers again. Then, Dad came out and brought us in, making us change into dry clothes as he made us something warm to drink, and it was almost as though nothing bad had ever happened between us."

"Who knew that rain had that power?" Ben said, mainly to himself. Though he knew that rain didn't actually do what the younger man had said, it was the symbol of those things. Rain was a very refreshing thing. Then, he noticed that Riley was wearing the jade cross visibly around his neck, and Ben instantly knew that he was trying to wash away the memory of what had happened to his father.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Dustin stood outside as he looked up at the gray sky, allowing the gentle rain to fall on to his face. He remembered what his father had used to say about the rain, how it would cleanse your mind of bad things you had done. In his mind's eye, he could see himself as a young kid standing outside with an even younger Riley, the fight they had just had washing away with the dripping rain as they became brothers again.

But this time, things were different. Riley wasn't standing outside with him, and even if he had been, it would take more than this gentle drizzle to cleanse him of what he had done.

"_You'll never forgive me for what I've done, Riley."_

Then, Dustin looked over his shoulder when he heard a slight footstep on the damp grass behind him. He didn't smile when he saw that it was Nick.

"Come on in before you catch a cold," Nick said, placing his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "He wants to talk to you about how we go about getting the next clue anyway."

"All right," Dustin muttered, not really hearing the younger man's words. "I'll be right in."

Nick nodded, looking at his friend for another moment before going back into the house. Dustin sighed as he turned back to look up at the sky, the rain once again hitting his face.

_"Riley…"_

xxxxxxxxxx

Riley stared at the two lines of Hieroglyphics that was the clue they had gotten from the museum, wondering how they were going to figure out what it said. "All righty. This is the clue, but I doubt that _I_ could even find something on the web that could help us translate it," he said. "It's not like this is a language that people still use or anything…"

"I don't know much about Hieroglyphics myself," Ben admitted, getting a nod of agreement from Abigail.

"Well, _I_ know what direction to read them in," Riley told them proudly. "See this symbol in the beginning of the first line? It's facing left, so the line is read from left to right. And the symbol at the end of the second line is facing right, so that line is read from right to left. See? I know things."

Abigail looked up at him with a smirk. "You just think you're so smart, don't you?"

Riley returned the smirk. "Abi, I don't just think that. I _know_ that."

"So, we know which direction to read in, but that still gives us the problem of _how_ to read it," Ben interrupted before Abigail could continue the friendly argument. "We're not going to get anywhere unless we know what it is we're reading."

Abigail frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't Charlie give you the number of a man who knows something about Hieroglyphics when he was here checking on Riley?" she asked.

Ben nodded slowly, getting to his feet and walking over to the box beneath the phone where he kept numbers that weren't yet on his cell phone, going through them until he found the one he needed. "It's a man named Daniel Richards…"

Riley seemed to perk up at the sound of the name. "I know him," he said. "He's a friend of my dad's who was in charge of building the Ancient Egypt exhibit at the museum where we found the clue."

"Charlie told me that Daniel was a friend of your father's, but I didn't know that he was involved with the museum," Ben muttered. "Riley, could I use your cell phone to call him?"

"Why?" Riley asked, clearly confused though he fished his cell phone out of his pocket anyway.

"Our phone may be tapped, and I don't want to take that chance," Ben answered, taking the cell phone that his best friend offered him. "Thank you."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that…"

Ben quickly dialed the number and brought the small phone up to his ear. After the second ring, someone picked up.

"Hello?" an older man asked.

"Yes, my name is Benjamin Gates," Ben said. "Is this Daniel?"

The man laughed a little. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that you were Riley since his number came up on my caller ID," he replied. "But yes, this is Daniel. How can I help you, Mr. Gates?"

"I'm a good friend of Riley's, and he's letting me use his cell phone," Ben explained. "But I just wanted to tell you that we found your clue at the museum. I've been named the second."

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a long minute. "Have you now?" Daniel finally asked. "I must say this is interesting. I suppose you don't know how to read Hieroglyphics, Mr. Gates."

Ben smiled a little. "No, Sir. I was wondering if you could help me out with that," he answered.

"I could," Daniel told him, "but first I need some proof that you truly are a friend of Riley. Let me speak with him."

That was an understandable request. Ben handed the phone to Riley, who brought it to his ear. "Yo," he said, knowing that the man on the other end would laugh. A minute later, he smiled brightly. "Yeah, Dan. It sure has been a while. How are you?" Another pause. "I'm feeling somewhat better, yeah. I guess Charlie told you about that whole ordeal, huh? But, what do you say? Can you help my friends and I with that clue?"

Ben looked at him curiously, anxious to hear the answer. "Uh huh," Riley muttered. "Uh huh. Okay. Will do, Dan. See you then. Bye." Then, he flipped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket.

"What did he say?" Abigail asked. "Will he help?"

"He said he wants us to meet him in front of the museum tomorrow at noon," Riley answered. "He'll help us with the decoding of the clue then."

"Well, I'll be at work, so I can't go," Abigail said. "You boys tell me what happens, all right? Call me when you have it decoded."

"Wait," Ben muttered. "You're not going with me to the museum tomorrow, Riley. You're still weak from the arsenic and not eating much."

"I'm strong enough, Ben," Riley replied defensively. Then, he smirked. "Besides, has there ever been a time when you've been able to stop me?"

xxxxxxxxxx

"I still can't believe that you're coming along," Ben said irritably, his eyes glued to the road as he drove from a just turned green light.

Riley smirked. "Come on, Ben," he replied cheerfully. "This is going to be fun. At least we'll get the clue."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Just don't pass out on me," he muttered.

"I won't. You worry too much, you know that?"

"I'm being serious, Riley."

"I know. So am I."

Ben ignored the comment as he turned the corner on to the street the museum was on. There was still yellow police tape blocking off the entrance because the damage hadn't been completely repaired yet, and many people were walking on the sidewalk in front of the building. Ben realized that Daniel had probably picked this spot since it was lunch hour for most people and it would e this crowded. For a startled minute, he wondered if they were going to find him at all.

The two friends hurried up to the museum after Ben parked the car across the street, and they began their search. "What does he look like?" Ben asked, scanning the large crowd with his eyes.

"I haven't seen him for a while, Ben," Riley answered. "I'm not exactly sure what he looks like now…"

"Ah, Riley. Good to see you again, kiddo."

Riley turned around and saw that a man wearing a suit with long graying hair that was tied back in a ponytail was standing behind him, a kind smile lighting up his eyes from behind his glasses. A young girl was standing behind him shyly. "Hey, Dan," the techie replied, hugging the older man tightly. "It's so good to see you."

Daniel placed a hand on the side of Riley's head affectionately but with a hint of sympathy, and then turned to the other man who was with him. "And you must be Ben," he said, shaking hands with the treasure hunter. "I'm Dan, and this is my granddaughter Chelsea. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Gates."

"Nice to meet you too," Ben told him with a smile. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the slip of paper they had found in the museum. "We brought this…"

"Ah, yes. Of course," Dan laughed. "Come and sit down, and we can look it over."

Ben followed Daniel and Chelsea with Riley behind him, who was relieved to get the chance to stop standing, and sat down on the stone steps that led up to the museum. Daniel reached into a plastic bag that he had brought with him and pulled out a pencil and an aged brown book that had no title. He handed the pencil to Ben and opened the book, revealing lists of Hieroglyphics with translations beside them inside.

"Hieroglyphics are just like any written language, but they are more complicated because they represent ideas rather than sounds. But for the sake of this clue, I just used the symbols for letters. Take this one for example," Daniel explained, pointing to the first symbol in line one and then showing him the same symbol in the book. "This one represents a sound, which is the letter T." Ben quickly wrote down a _T_ above the symbol. "And the next one is the letter H. And the next one is… good, you've got it."

Chelsea, bored of just sitting on the steps, began to look around at the busy atmosphere around her, but then leaned forward to look at Riley on the other side of Ben and her grandfather. The techie, equally bored, saw her out of the corner of his eyes, and he glanced at her and made a funny face. Chelsea smiled and hid behind Daniel. But she leaned forward again and got another funny face from Riley. This time, she laughed when she hid behind her grandfather again.

Daniel looked down at her. "Chelsea, behave," he told her sternly.

"She's fine, Dan," Riley said with a wave of his hand. "But you know, there is an ice cream stand on the corner across the street. Do you want some, Chelsea? If it's all right with your grandfather, of course."

The young girl nodded and looked up at Daniel expectantly. "Can I, Grandpa?" she asked. "Please?"

"Ah, all right," Daniel finally answered, smiling as Chelsea grinned brightly with excitement and rushed over to Riley to pull him to his feet. "Just be careful crossing the street."

"We will," Riley assured him, allowing the young girl to lead him down the stairs and to the edge of the sidewalk. Then, tightly holding her hand and looking up and down the street for cars, they quickly crossed. The techie walked down the sidewalk with Chelsea skipping cheerfully next to him, beginning to feel a little lightheaded.

"_Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to suggest the long walk to the ice cream stand," _Riley thought as they approached the cart. _"Ben better have that clue decoded by the time we get back."_

He looked out at the street absentmindedly as Chelsea considered all of the options she could get, hoping that it wasn't too expensive, anxious to sit back down again. The turmoil that his stomach had had to endure for the past few days along with his lack of eating much as an added bonus were starting to really take a toll on him. Maybe Ben had been right when he said he shouldn't have come after all…

Suddenly, Riley's eyes widened with surprise when a black SUV stopped at the red light beside him. The tainted passenger side window slowly rolled down, and his breath caught in his chest with fear when he saw that it was Dustin smirking at him. On the driver's side next to the older Poole was Ian Howe.

**A/N**: So, Riley's the first to actually see Ian after he escaped. I mean out of the good people, of course! But some things to look forward to in the next chapter are the fact that the Hieroglyphics clue is solved and the story of the treasure is told. So, be looking out for that. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**: I disclaim anything from the movie and also this historical character that I am using.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! I'm so glad that I got a lot done on my end so that I can update faster. This is very convenient. I also have some really exciting news that I'll talk about more at the end, but I'm not even really getting my hopes up. It's just gonna' rule!!!!! Thank you so much to **AliuIce0814**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **Miss Fenway**, **daisyduke80**, **Majestik Moose**, **ink0and0paper**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Save the Elmo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Halo**, and **Hulabaloo **for all of your great reviews! I love every one of them. So, here we go to the next chapter!

**Note**: I'm taking some liberty with a historical character in this chapter, so bear with me. I know the bank I mention probably wasn't in St. Joseph, Missouri, but it does have some significance. Besides, isn't "National Treasure" mixing fact and fiction anyway? Enjoy!

Chapter 17

"And the last symbol is the letter H," Daniel concluded, shutting the book and putting it back in the plastic bag.

Ben looked down at the paper resting on his knee, which read:

THOMAS

DRAWOH

After a minute of staring at it and remembering what Riley had told him about reading Hieroglyphics, he flipped the second line so that the paper now read:

THOMAS

HOWARD

"I know that name," Ben muttered thoughtfully, looking at the name intently. "Thomas Howard. I've heard it before…"

"Of course you have, Ben," Daniel told him. "You've already proven in the past that you know a lot about American history. But here's one thing that you're not considering. When is a name not a name?"

Ben looked up from the paper and watched the people bustling around thoughtfully, repeating the question in his mind. When is a name not a name? When a name has to be protected or hidden, his mind told him, when it is an…

"It's an alias," Ben whispered, finally understanding.

Daniel nodded and smiled encouragingly, silently telling Ben that he was on the right track. Ben smiled and laughed a little himself, looking down at the paper when he realized who the alias belonged to. "Genius…"

"They're back," Daniel suddenly said, nodding toward the sidewalk.

Ben looked up and saw that Riley and Chelsea were indeed approaching them, and while the girl was happily eating her ice cream, the treasure hunter saw with fear that his best friend's face was pale and appeared to be shaken up about something. "Riley, what's wrong?" Ben asked anxiously, getting to his feet and taking the younger man sturdily by the arms. "Are you all right?"

Riley looked back at him, his eyes filled with terror. "Ben, I saw Ian. Dustin was with him," he muttered so quietly that the older man could barely hear him. "And you know that black SUV that we keep seeing? Ian was driving it."

"What?!" Ben quickly looked around them, but he saw no sign of the infamous vehicle. Well, now he knew why they kept seeing it everywhere… But they were safe as long as Ian and Dustin weren't around, at least for now.

Daniel then came up to them, looking at Riley with concern before he turned to the older of the two friends. "You dropped this, Ben," he said, handing him the Hieroglyphics paper. "I'm just glad this ended up in the right hands…"

Riley looked at the paper with excitement, momentarily forgetting about his fear from seeing Ian. "Is that the clue?" he asked quickly. "Did you decode it?"

"Yes we did," Ben answered him, handing his best friend the paper. "Here it is."

"Thomas Howard?" Riley read aloud, giving Ben a blank stare as he handed the paper back. "I've never heard that name before."

Before Ben could tell him what it really meant, he saw a blond-haired figure he recognized to be Nick standing in the crowd. He quickly scribbled down something, smirked at Ben, and then disappeared into the mass of people. A confused expression appeared on Riley's face, and he turned to look over his shoulder to see what the treasure hunter was looking at, but Nick was already gone. He may have gotten the Thomas Howard clue, but he wouldn't be able to figure out the meaning unless he knew it was an alias. Once he was sure that Nick was out of earshot, Ben smiled when Riley turned back to look at him.

"So, Riley. How much do you know about Jesse James?"

xxxxxxxxxx

Abigail set three bowls of seasoned chicken and cheddar soup on the table before setting down a bowl of regular chicken noodle for Chelsea and a small plate of cheese and crackers for Riley. Drinks followed along with spoons, and then she sat down next to her husband as they faced Daniel. He had come to their home with his granddaughter for lunch to tell them the tale of the treasure. As bored as she had been at the museum, Chelsea was playing a game on Riley's laptop that he had set up for her while she ate.

"So, this treasure really belonged to Jesse James?" Riley asked, reaching over and turning the volume all the way down on the laptop when it made an annoying beeping noise.

Daniel nodded as he took a spoonful of soup. "That it did. Oh, this is delicious, Abigail," he said, making her smile with embarrassment. "But I should probably start from the beginning. The tale begins with a seven-year-old girl named Clara who lived in the North who was visiting her grandfather who was a sheriff in St. Joseph, Missouri in the year 1882…"

_Clara stretched as she walked down the sandy street, smiling in the heat from the sun. The train ride had been a long one, and she was just relieved to be able to get the chance to stretch her legs. As soon as she had arrived at the train station, a guard had given her a message from her grandfather asking if she could stop at the bank to pick up some money for them to be able to go out to eat since it was right on the way to the house. Clara smiled to herself. Spending the month with her grandfather was going to be so much fun._

_Then, the girl slowed to a stop when she saw the faded sign that read Platte City Bank. Allowing a horse and rider to go past her, Clara quickly crossed and entered the building, anxious to get the money and go straight to her grandfather's house._

_The line was incredibly long, and Clara began to grow impatient. The bank was even hotter than it was outside, where there was at least a bit of a breeze. What was taking this line so long?_

_Suddenly, the doors crashed open behind her, and Clara whirled around while everyone around her did the same. She was horrified to see that three men with revolvers had entered, and finally, a fourth one came in behind them. Her entire body froze over with terror when she recognized this man. It was the infamous Jesse James, a man that she had only heard about in stories from her grandfather and had hoped to never see. She suddenly feared for her very life._

"_All righ'. Everyone jus' hand over your money an' valuables, an' no one gets hurt," Jesse demanded coolly, seeing that every set of eyes were glued to him._

_Some men who were either very brave or very stupid walked forward as if in a way of challenge, and that's when bullets began to fly._

_Clara screamed and covered her head, crouching down on the floor as people were killed from the bullets. Tears streaming from her eyes when more shots rang out around her as the deadly gang of men spread throughout the crowd and as screams echoed in her ears, the seven-year-old anxiously crawled toward the door in hopes of escape. But then, she suddenly ran into a pair of sturdy legs, and she looked up and gasped when she found herself looking into the face of Jesse James himself._

_The eyes of a bandit, the eyes of a murderer, looked down to the floor. But when those cold eyes saw her fearful form, they strangely softened. He looked back up when he heard another gunshot, but then he put his revolver on his belt and quickly bent down. Clara screamed when he picked her up into his arms, shielding her from possible stray bullets as he carried her out of the bank. People gasped in fear and moved out of the way when they saw Jesse James come running toward them with a young girl, but they didn't dare approach him as he cut down a side alley. Clara continued to sob and tremble in his arms, wondering what he was planning on doing with her._

_After running down many more alleys, Jesse finally slowed to a stop. "Where do ya' live, girl?" he asked._

_Clara looked up at him with suspicious, damp eyes. "Why do you want to know?" she muttered past her tears._

"_I have to get ya' home, don' I?" Jesse told her. "Ya' need to get to be as far away from tha' bank as ya' can."_

"_Why are you so worried about me?" Clara said as her tears slowly stopped falling. She was beginning to see that there was more to this man than his cruel exterior._

_Jesse looked back down on her. "I… I have my own daughter tha's 'round your age," he hesitantly replied. "It kinda' impairs your judgment a bit. But don' go 'round tellin' everyone tha', ya' hear?"_

_Clara nodded, satisfied with that answer as she snuggled up against him. She could hear his heart, and she knew that there was at least some compassion being pulsed through him with every beat, and he wasn't as heartless as everyone said he was. She was now confident that he wouldn't harm her, and she was thankful to him for saving her life. Jesse looked down at her with some surprise, but then he smiled slightly when he heard the young girl whisper, "Thank you."_

_About a week after being saved by Jesse James and not telling anyone about what had happened, Clara walked down the street as she headed toward the drug store to pick up some medication for her grandfather. She sighed, exhausted. She hadn't gotten that great of a night's sleep since her dreams had been plagued by nightmares. Not really paying attention to where she was going, she took a right instead of a left and found herself standing in front of a graveyard. Intrigued for some reason unknown to her, Clara entered it._

_The young girl slowly moved through the rows of tombstones, reading the names as she passed them. She then stopped when she saw someone who had the same last name as she did, and she knelt down in front of it curiously as she wondered who it was._

"_Someone related to ya'?"_

_Clara gasped and looked to her left, surprised by the sudden but familiar voice. A smile appeared on her young face when she saw that it was Jesse James. She got to her feet and ran up to him, hugging him tightly. "Guess what? It's my birthday today!"_

"_Is it?" Jesse asked. "Well, tha's perfect then. Come, follow me." He took the new eight-year-old's hand and led her farther into the graveyard away from eyes that could possibly see them. They finally stopped under the shade of a large tree, and he sat down at the base. Clara knelt down beside him, watching curiously as he pulled a rolled up piece of parchment out of his back pocket. Jesse carefully unrolled it, revealing the picture that had been carefully drawn on it._

"_Do ya' know what this is?" the bandit asked._

"_A map," Clara answered, looking up into his face. "Where does it lead?"_

_Jesse's eyes shone at her question. "A treasure," he told her quietly._

_Clara's face brightened up with excitement. "A treasure?" she whispered._

"_Yep. This is the map tha' leads to the location of everythin' that I have ever taken," Jesse explained. "I can' give this to my gang since any one of 'em could easily get caught an' the secret will be ruined. They know where it is anyway. But this shows the location, an' I need you to protect my secret for me. Can ya' do tha'?"_

"_Yeah," Clara promised, taking the map from him and looking it over. It looked complicated and there were words and numbers that she didn't recognize, but she knew that she could probably figure it out upon further study. It appeared to be a house, but where this house was, she wasn't sure…_

"_Ya'll also need this," Jesse said, reaching into his pocket again and pulling out a beautiful jade cross pendant with silver lining its edges and put it around her neck. Clara looked down on it and held it in her palm, entranced by its beauty._

"_What is this for?" she asked in an awed whisper, looking back up at him for the answer._

_Jesse smiled back at her. "Once ya' find the door to the treasure, ya'll understand," he answered simply._

_Clara looked at him with surprise again, and then she put her arms around his neck in another hug. Jesse put his arms around her as well as he faintly muttered, "Happy Birthday."_

_Finally, it was the day that Clara had to return to her home in the North. She had studied the map that Jesse James had given her ever since she had received it, but she still wasn't able to figure it out. So, as she made sure that she had everything with her that she needed and after she said good-bye to her grandfather, Clara headed out for the train station. But instead of going straight there, she took a detour toward Jesse's house._

_Clara finally saw it, knowing its location from seeing it on his file on her grandfather's desk, a small house that was a little ways set apart from the rest of the houses. She smiled as she hurried toward it, planning on asking him more about the map and to tell him good-bye. But then, she froze when she saw two people standing in front of the window. Once she recognized as Sheriff Robert Ford and the other a sheriff that she did not know by name. Curious as to what they were doing at his window, she inched closer, seeing that her friend had just stood on a chair to straighten a picture that was hanging crookedly on the wall. Suddenly, Ford raised a rifle that he had been keeping hidden. Clara opened her mouth to scream something that would make him stop, but she was too afraid and was unable to say anything._

_Then, there was a loud gunshot and the sound of shattering glass._

_Clara covered her mouth to stifle her gasp of terror as tears fell from her eyes, watching as the man who was known as a bandit by all but as a kind man by the people close to him fall limply from the chair, the picture still hanging crookedly on the wall. As she watched the two sheriffs enter the house, Clara sunk to her knees to the sandy ground as one word escaped from her mouth._

"_Why…"_

"And Clara was never able to decode the map since she never got the chance to ask her questions to Jesse James," Daniel concluded.

When the tale was finished, everyone was staring at Daniel in awe, except for Chelsea, who was too entranced in the computer game to notice. "Wow," Abigail muttered, shaking her head. "I knew the story of Jesse James, but I never knew…"

"No one was supposed to know that he entrusted his secret to an eight-year-old girl," Daniel said quietly. "All except for Clara's bloodline."

"Let me guess. That's what I am, right?" Riley asked.

Daniel nodded in answer.

"So, has anyone found the treasure of Jesse James yet?" Ben wondered.

"No, not even Clara," Daniel replied. "As I said, she was never able to read the map. She took it and the pendant back North with her, and she never got the chance to return to the South to search. Her children, grandchildren, and descendants after have tried but failed to find it. The tradition of passing the map and pendant down to the oldest child has continued for generations. No one has found it yet, and it appears that the secret of Jesse James may remain a secret."

"Yes, but everyone who has tried to find the treasure didn't have Benjamin Gates to help them," Abigail teased, earning a smile from her husband.

Riley suddenly felt the pendant that was resting against his chest, and he pulled it out of his shirt and held it out in front of him. "Is this what he gave to Clara?"

Daniel's eyes flickered when he saw the jade cross. "Yes, that is, Riley," he told him. "Keep it close to you, and no matter what, do not let Dustin know you have it."

Abigail looked at her husband. "So this treasure would probably be hidden someplace that was significant to Jesse James," she thought aloud, bouncing the idea off of Ben.

"Yeah, but where is that place?" Riley asked from Ben's other side.

"You'll have to do some research," Daniel said with a shrug. "I'm sure the Library of Congress must have something."

Ben glanced at him, knowing that he knew more than he was letting on, but before he could reply, everyone's attention was switched to Chelsea when she suddenly exclaimed, "I win!"

**A/N**: So, that's it. The treasure is explained, and now they just have to go look for it. Yay! Fun! Okay, anyway, here's that exciting news that I was talking about at the beginning. You all know Johnny Depp, I'm sure. Well, his new movie is going to be filmed 2 hours away from where I live, and he's going to be in the city that I live in to hold auditions for girls who are interested. Just for fun (and so we can see Johnny Depp), my friends and I are probably going to swing by and _maybe_ try out if we can. But hey. It's Johnny Depp! And we're going to see him _in person_! That's going to be this Friday, so we're very excited. And then this weekend, I'm also going to Minneapolis, so this weekend is going to ROCK! Anyway… Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer**: I disclaim everything from the movie(s) and any historical figures.

**A/N**: Hey! Sorry for the long wait! This weekend has been hectic, but fun! The good news is my friends and I did go to the audition on Friday, but the bad news is Johnny Depp wasn't actually there (but he is going to be in my state in a week from today: Monday the 10th!). We don't know if we made it in or not because they have yet to start calling people who did make it. Then, I was in Minneapolis on Saturday and Sunday, and that was a blast. We had so much fun going to the Mall of America and everything! But, enough about my weekend, and thank you to **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **daisyduke80**, **bigmacsparkey**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Halo**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **AliuIce0814**, **fantomfairy**, **Majestik Moose**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all very much! So, without further ado, onto the next chapter!

**Note**: I just contradicted myself. There's still one more thing I gotta' say. I am still taking some creative license with Jesse James here, okay?

Chapter 18

Ian looked over his shoulder when the back door of the SUV opened and Nick slid inside next to Powell, Ian's henchman that they had also sprung from jail. "Did you get the clue?" Dustin asked immediately from the passenger seat beside the English man.

"I did, but I don't exactly know how much it means," Nick answered, handing the paper to his best friend. "It's a name."

Dustin quickly looked over the paper. "That's _all_ the clue was?" he said in disbelief. "There wasn't any more?"

"No…"

"Let me see," Ian muttered, taking the paper from Dustin and glancing at the two words hastily scribbled on it. He laughed a little after he had read it over. "You told me that you studied history, Dustin."

"I did," Dustin protested in his defense. "I just don't remember there being a Thomas Howard in history."

"There was, that just wasn't his actual name," Ian continued. "Come now, Dustin. You have to know this if you studied history, especially outside of school."

Dustin narrowed his eyes at the English man. "Well if you're so smart, what is it?"

Ian smirked. "It's Jesse James. You know, the bandit?" he explained. "His alias was Thomas Howard."

Powell leaned forward from the backseat, ignoring the glare shot at him from a disgruntled Dustin. "So, what do we have to do to find out about the clue?" he asked. "Research or somethin'?"

But Ian only shrugged as he started up the SUV, handing the paper to him. "We can always go to the library."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_I'm sure that the Library of Congress must have something."_

Ben knew that was the hint that would lead them to the next clue, but to confirm it, he would have to speak with Charlie since he was author of the clue. The treasure hunter kissed Abigail good-bye as she left for work and sank down on the couch and took out his cell phone, finding the retired doctor's name on his list of contacts and pushing the call button. After the third ring, the phone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is Ben."

"Oh, hi, Ben," Charlie said cheerfully. "Good to hear from you. How's Riley doing?"

"He's feeling a lot better," Ben told him. "Still not completely, but he's growing stronger every day. But I wanted to tell you that we solved Daniel's clue."

Ben could almost see the smile that was reflected in Charlie's voice. "So now you know the story of the treasure of Jesse James?" he asked.

"Yes," Ben answered. "Daniel also told us that the Library of Congress may be a good place to go."

"I see that you are truly ready for my clue," Charlie stated. "All right then. It is in the Library of Congress, but it's a book that you can't find on the shelves. My daughter works there. Just find her, tell her that I sent you, and ask for book number 0.00. Her name is Amy."

0.00? That was the weirdest book number that Ben had ever heard, but that was probably because the book they needed wasn't even in the library's system. "Thank you very much, Charlie," he said. "Will do. Bye."

"Good luck."

Ben flipped his cell phone closed after the doctor's words of encouragement, just as Riley came down the stairs and sat down on the chair across from the couch. "Good morning, Ben."

"Good morning," Ben replied, noticing by his watch that it was almost noon. "What are your plans for today now that you are among the living?"

Riley smirked at the sarcastic question. "Well, probably watch some cartoons, eat a little, maybe take a nap later this afternoon, and then finally watch some movie that's like thirty some years old before going to bed at seven. You know, the only things that you allow me to do," he explained.

Ben raised his eyebrow with amusement. He wasn't _that_ overprotective. "How about going to the library with me to pick up a book?" he asked.

"Whoa. Is Ben Gates _really_ asking me to leave the house when I'm weak from hunger and suffering from a high fever?" Riley said sarcastically, over exaggerating his condition.

The treasure hunter smiled. "Why are you so surprised? You went out yesterday."

"Yeah, but that was against your wishes. This time, you're suggesting it."

"You're funny."

Riley smiled. "I know," he replied. "Humor is one of the qualities I pride myself with. So, which library are we going to?"

Ben met his gaze. "Expect a bit of a drive. We're going to the Library of Congress."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right. So let me get this straight," Riley muttered. "We are looking for one girl named _Amy_ who works in the largest library in the world?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Ben replied casually as they entered the building.

"This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. You know that, don't you?" Riley asked, lowering his voice since they were in a library and one had to be quiet.

"Probably."

Riley looked at his friend with only slight disbelief. "Would discourage most people…"

"Well when we do find her, let me do the talking," Ben said, his eyes moving around the large building. "I know exactly what we're looking for."

"Well why don't you start with the service desk?" Riley suggested, gesturing in its general direction. "It's their job to help people."

Ben shrugged and approached the desk that his friend had pointed out. A woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties with her light brown hair tied behind her head was sitting behind it, and she looked up and gave them a friendly smile when they stopped in front of her. "How may I help you gentlemen?" she asked politely.

"I was wondering if you could help me find someone," Ben answered. "Do you know where I could find Amy Harrison?"

The woman's smile broadened. "You're talking to her," she told him.

Ben blinked with surprise and exchanged a "that was easy" look with Riley. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Amy said with a small laugh. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, your father sent us to pick up a book from you," Ben explained. "It's one that can't be found on the shelves and has the number 0.00. I was wondering if you had it."

Amy studied him carefully for a long moment while Riley looked at his best friend with confusion. "All right. This way please," she finally muttered, getting to her feet and straightening out her skirt.

Ben and Riley followed her away from the service desk and across the room to where a door with a glowing red exit sign hanging over it was. Amy pushed open the door and headed down a flight of spiraling stone stairs with the two friends close behind her, the air becoming colder with each step they took. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves faced with a wall of lockers. Amy approached it, having to stand on her toes to reach one of the lockers higher up on the wall. Riley and Ben turned around so that they wouldn't see her combination, only looking back when they heard the door open. Amy reached inside and pulled out a thin, black, leather book and shut the door, locking it again.

"That's not a very big book," Riley commented, looking at it in the librarian's hands as she walked back over to them.

"Well, there's not too much in it, but what is in there is important," Amy told them, handing the book to Ben. "Whatever you do, don't open it until you get home. You don't want any pairs of unfriendly eyes seeing the contents."

Ben looked down on the cover as he slowly nodded. "Thank you very much, Amy. This is really helpful to us."

Amy smiled. "No problem. Always a pleasure to help the great treasure hunter, Benjamin Gates," she replied. "So, what are you looking for this time? Jesse James' secret treasure?"

"That's pretty much it," Ben confirmed with a small smile. "And you've just given us the next clue."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian picked up his cell phone from the wooden table in front of him when it began to ring. "What happened in the Library of Congress, Powell?" he asked, looking away from the television when Dustin entered the living room carrying bowls of lasagna for himself, Ian, and Nick. The English man listened intently for a minute while the Poole sat down on the couch beside him, picking up some lasagna with his fork. "All right. We'll keep an eye on Gates and Riley and try to figure out the meaning of the next clue."

Nick glanced at him when there was another silence while Ian listened to Powell again, taking a bite of his lasagna. "Oh, that's even better. Keep an eye on that librarian. She may be of some use to us. Call back when you have something." Then, he flipped his phone shut.

"What was that about?" Dustin asked, though he clearly didn't care what Ian said.

"Ben and Riley have found the next clue," Ian answered as he changed the television station, clear that he didn't care what Dustin had to say either. "We'll have to find a way to get our hands on it."

"All right, so what we should do is-!" Dustin began, but was cut off by Ian raising his hand in the air.

"Not so fast, Poole," he interrupted. "We're going to do this my way."

Dustin glared at him angrily. "Who died and made _you_ leader?" he demanded. "_I'm _the one who got you out of jail, Ian."

"You wouldn't have gotten this far without me," Ian countered heatedly. "Making rash decisions like murdering your father and an old funeral home owner of little importance. You're lucky that I stepped in and helped you to break into the museum. Though I still say that you shouldn't have used explosives…"

"What are we going to do about the clue?" Nick suddenly asked, trying to break up the argument before it turned ugly.

Dustin sighed and turned away from them while Ian looked at the younger man with a small smile. "All right. Here's what we're going to do."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben sat down at the kitchen table, placing the small, black book they had gotten from the Library of Congress down while Riley sat in the chair beside him. "Ready?" the older man asked. His best friend nodded, and Ben slowly opened the fragile book.

On the first page was a riddle. Ben leaned forward and read aloud:

_"The tale of a bandit true_

_Has led you to this clue._

_Do not think hard, _

_For the answer is not far._

_Down you now must go_

_To where the tale was told._

_To find the sum you seek,_

_You only need to peek_

_Into the life of one man now dead_

_At where he met his tragic end."_

"This is talking about the story of Jesse James that Daniel told us, right?" Riley asked, still looking at the words as he read them over in his mind.

"Yeah, has to be," Ben answered as he thought about the riddle. "All right, so 'down you now must go to where the tale was told'. That has to be St. Joseph, Missouri since that's where the story took place."

"Right, but then it goes on to say 'at where he met his tragic end'," Riley added. "That would be his home, wouldn't it? That's where he was shot, or 'met his tragic end'."

Ben sighed. "The only thing is, they have made a display of Jesse James' home," he muttered thoughtfully. "I'm unsure that a mind as brilliant as his was would hide something so valuable in a place that could easily be in plain sight."

Riley nodded, thinking this over. "Well, judging by the clue, the treasure has to be somewhere in St. Joseph," he said. "Only one problem. That's an entire town. Jesse James only lived in one house while he was there, and that is the only place I can really think of to look. It wouldn't hurt to check there, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," Ben agreed, "but I'm just not sure how we're going to find the house. I don't know where it is in St. Joseph…"

"Do we know anyone who _does_?" Riley asked sarcastically.

Surprisingly, Ben smiled. "I can think of one person who might, or at least may be able to find out," he answered. "I'm going to call my mom."

Riley watched as the older man got to his feet and went into the living room, taking out his cell phone. "I thought she was the expert on dead languages!" he called after him.

"She works at a college, Riley. She knows more than that," Ben's voice floated into the kitchen from the living room. "Now-! Oh, hi, Mom. It's Ben. No, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if you could help me with something…"

"Okay then," Riley muttered to himself, tuning out the rest of Ben's words as he turned back to the book. He glanced at the riddle for only a second before deciding to turn the page. He saw that there was a note taped to the blank page, but what it said made him gasp.

_Riley,_

_If you're reading this, I assume that my suspicions about Dustin were correct and I'm not there to help you along, but you have solved all of the clues on your own so far. You only have one more to go, and then you will find the family treasure that no one has yet been able to find. But to get my clue, you need to go to the place where Jesse James gave the map to Clara. Good luck, kiddo. I love you._

_Dad_

Tears burned in Riley's eyes and angrily threatened to fall as he read the note from his dad again, but he was somehow able to hold them back. This was the final piece of evidence that he needed to prove to himself that Dustin really had killed Jeremy, the words coming straight from their father's mouth… well, hand in this case.

"Hey, Riley. Guess what?" Ben said with a smile as he entered the kitchen. But then, his smile vanished and his eyes narrowed in concern when he saw his best friend. "Riley, are you all right?"

"Fine," Riley muttered, wiping his tears away as he struggled to regain himself so his best friend wouldn't worry. "Now, what are you so excited about? Did you get the address?"

Ben slowly sat down at the table and placed his hand gently on the younger man's tense back. "Yeah," he replied. "But first tell me what's wrong."

Riley sighed with defeat as he carefully slid the book over to the treasure hunter, still open to the page with the note from Jeremy taped on it. Ben quickly read it over, and his face darkened with sorrow. "I think we need to get to Missouri as soon as possible," he commented, looking up at the techie after he had turned the page and saw a picture of a young girl who must have been Clara wearing the same pendant that Riley had. "Are you up for it, Riley?"

The younger man was quiet for a young moment as he stared blankly at the table, but then he nodded. "I am."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Amy hummed as she finished cleaning up her desk before moving on to grabbing her light jacket and purse. She was always the last one to leave the Library of Congress, but she didn't mind since she loved the large building with all of its books. The librarian smiled to herself when she thought about the strange visit she had gotten from Benjamin Gates and his kind of cute friend earlier that day. She hoped that they had solved the riddle that her father had written as she turned off the lights and stepped out into the cool night air, locking the doors.

Suddenly, Amy screamed as her arm was roughly grabbed from behind, but a large hand was quickly placed over her mouth to silence her. Her green eyes widened with fear when she saw the face of Powell, the man she recognized as being the one who had escaped from prison with the dangerous Ian Howe.

"Don't fret, my dear," he whispered in her ear, almost tauntingly. "Come quietly and you will not be harmed."

**A/N**: Not good! But, at least Ben and Riley understand the clue, and all they have to do is go get it. I sense a vacation! This is completely random, but I am very excited for the newest "Batman" movie to come out! Is anyone else out there excited too? I've heard that this Joker (Heath Ledger) is going to be _very_ evil. I mean, he's scary looking, but here's a quote that I found from actor Sir Michael Caine on Ledger's performance of the classic villain: "He is going to surprise a lot of people. He is absolutely terrifying. I'd say that he is the scariest thing I've ever seen on screen." I can't wait! Lol! Let's hope that he's as scary as he says he is! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer**: Everything that you recognize from the movies, I disclaim. Everyone that you now recognize but are my characters, I claim.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! I'm glad you liked that last chapter. Nothing really exciting happened recently except for what I've already told you, so, yeah. For all who asked, the movie I auditioned for is called "Public Enemies", which is about the bandit John Dillinger and a couple of other famous ones during the Great Depression. But thank you so much to **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **daisyduke80**, **Dreams of Leilani**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Halo**, **L.R. Meriadoc**, **Random1**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! This is now my top-rated story! Yay! Okay, anyway, on to the next chapter, shall we?

**Note**: Again, there is _no_ slash between Riley and Ben. Just brotherly love!

Chapter 19

"Missouri?" Abigail asked with a disbelieved sigh as she took a spoonful of the cereal that she was hurriedly eating before she had to leave for work. "You do realize that I do have a job and I will be missing said job if we fly south?"

Riley pretended to look hurt. "Abigail, are you saying that your boring old job at the National Archives Building is more important than going with your very own husband and best friend on a treasure hunt?" he said pathetically, using her full name to make his point hit home.

Abigail gave him her typical woman glare. "Who said that you were my best friend?" she retorted. "You don't know my other friends at work."

"Ha. What other friends?" Riley countered.

Ben nervously looked at his wife, knowing that Riley was somehow going to pay for that three word question. "We're just telling you that we're going to be leaving this evening…" he began.

"This _evening_?" Abigail said, alarmed. "Ben, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, we knew that you would probably back out of it if we mentioned it, so we just went ahead and bought three tickets, conveniently for right when you get home from work," Riley explained for the older man. "Now you kinda' can't get out if it."

Abigail rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible," she muttered, putting her now empty bowl in the sink and walking out the door without even saying goodbye.

"Don't worry! We'll pack for you!" Riley shouted out the door after her.

"Um, Riley. I think she really is mad at us," Ben muttered.

Riley shrugged. "Ah, don't worry, Ben. She'll get over it soon, especially when she sees the fake, realistic looking spider that I plan to put in her suitcase."

"Riley!" Ben scolded, but he couldn't hide the smile that had crept on to his face at the thought of his wife's reaction. She hated spiders…

"I'm just kidding. I don't even have a fake, realistic looking spider," Riley replied. "But she really will get over it when she sees how beautiful Missouri is."

"Have you been to Missouri before?" Ben asked, surprised.

"No. I just looked up some pictures on the internet."

Ben laughed a little. Riley sure was something else…

Then, the house phone suddenly rang. The treasure hunter gave his best friend a nervous look and then hesitantly got to his feet to answer the phone. With the possibility of it still being tapped, he didn't want to use it much. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank God you answered, Ben!"

"Charlie, is that you?" Ben asked, startled by the retired doctor's urgency. "What's going on?" Riley glanced at his best friend when he heard the anxious tone of his voice.

"He has her. He has Amy!" Charlie continued frantically.

"Slow down," Ben said, hopefully in a calming manner. "Who has Amy?"

The treasure hunter's stomach clenched tightly when he heard the doctor's answer.

"Ian. Ian Howe."

"Did… did he give you a number to call?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," Charlie told him shakily. "He said for you to call him as soon as I told you."

"All right," Ben muttered, grabbing a pencil and paper off the counter. "What is it?" He wrote down the number that Charlie read off, and he was disappointed to see that it was a landline phone. That meant that they couldn't track him down personally through his cell… Then again, Ian was always smart.

"Relax, Charlie. Amy will be fine," Ben assured the older man. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you so much, Ben."

"You're welcome," Ben said. "Bye." Then, he hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Riley asked nervously, seeing how grave his best friend's expression was.

"Ian," Ben answered quietly and simply, picking up the phone again and beginning to dial the number that Charlie had given him to contact the English man. "He has Amy, Charlie's daughter."

"That librarian we talked to at the Library of Congress yesterday?"

"Yeah, that's her," Ben muttered, pushing the last number. "I'm sure that Ian wants the clue, which is why he's doing this. Now, I'm going to put the phone on speaker so we can both hear what he has to say."

"Well that's not good…" Riley felt his heartbeat begin to quicken. This was the first time that he had spoken to Ian since he had been in jail, and it was a very nerve-racking thing.

Suddenly, the phone on the other end picked up. "Hello, Ben. Riley."

"Ian," Riley snapped in automatic response despite Ben's warning glance, but he couldn't help it. The man's cold voice and the fact that he knew that they were on speaker sent a chill down his spine.

"Snappy as ever, are we, Riley?" Ian asked with a laugh.

"Go to he-!" Riley began irritably, but was cut off by Ben.

"What do you want with Amy, Ian?" Ben interrupted, giving his younger friend another warning look.

"Ah, so you did get my message then. Excellent," Ian said. "But you must understand that I don't want this girl, Ben. I want the next clue."

"What if we don't have it?" Ben asked. Maybe, just _maybe_ he could bluff his way through this.

But Ian only laughed at the question. "You know, you never have been able to bluff. I can just see the look on your face right now, Ben," he taunted. "You have to learn that you have to be holding all of the cards to run a convincing bluff. Besides having Amy at my disposal, Powell is keeping a close watch on a certain Doctor Abigail Chase."

That was the last straw for Ben, though he was thankful that Ian didn't know that Abigail was married to him. "You lay one hand on her, Ian, and I'll-!" he started his threat heatedly, but Riley jumped up from the table and grabbed on to the older man's arm to hold him back.

"Ben!" he shouted, alarmed when he saw that his friend was actually going to lunge at the phone as though it was Ian himself if he wasn't restrained. "Calm down! That's not going to help!"

"Listen to Riley, Ben. After all, he knows best," Ian laughed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But now you listen to me. If you just give me the clue, Doctor Chase will not be harmed. She will not even know that she is being watched. And you will also get Amy back safe and sound. We just have to make an exchange."

"Where?" Ben asked without emotion, though he was noticeably outraged. "Somewhere public."

"All right then. Go to the National Archives Building at eleven," Ian answered. "Dustin will be there to make the exchange. I'm sure you'll be glad to see him, Riley. He's looking forward to seeing you."

Riley glared angrily at the phone, but Ben held him back. "We'll be there," the treasure hunter confirmed.

"Good. We'll keep in touch." Then, Ian hung up.

"That was scary, Ben," Riley said, trying to make light of the situation as his friend also hung up the phone. "Remind me to never get you a phone for your birthday…" But his joke trailed off when he got an angry glare from Ben.

"Write down the clue to bring to Ian," the treasure hunter told him. "We're not going to risk bringing the book." Then, he stormed into the living room.

Riley sighed as he sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh, making a mental note to himself to never make Ben angry… or to ever buy him a phone.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben was completely silent as he drove toward the Archives Building, his face an angry mask as his eyes stayed glued to the road. Riley kept looking at him nervously out of the corner of his eye from the passenger seat, not even wanting to turn on the radio in fear that the older man would bite his head off if it was a song that he didn't like or it was one of those annoying commercials that he hated so much. Joy. This was going to be a fun car ride.

Riley sighed and turned away from the treasure hunter, placing his forehead against the warm window. He knew that Ben was angry because Ian had threatened Abigail and she was in possible danger, and for a minute, he wondered what would happen if the situation was just a little bit different. What if _he _was the one that Ian had threatened and was using against Ben to get the clue? What if _he_ was the one that was being watched, and if Ben didn't agree to do exactly what Ian said, he would be harmed? Would Ben still be so angry? Riley sighed again. Probably not. He was only the treasure hunter's friend, and he couldn't compare to the woman that Ben loved…

They walked down the sidewalk in silence after Ben parked a block away from the National Archives Building, Riley trailing a little behind the older man. The techie wasn't surprised that he didn't notice. He bet himself thirteen cents, it would have been more if he had more loose change in his pocket, that Ben would only acknowledge him for the clue and that was all since Abigail was in danger.

The looming building soon came into sight, and Ben and Riley came to a stop in front of it, the older man sighing with frustration when he saw that Dustin wasn't there yet.

"Ben, relax," Riley muttered, watching his friend begin to pace before checking his watch. "It's only a minute before eleven. We're here. Dustin will be here. I'm sure that Abigail will be just fine."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

If one thing could go wrong, this was it. Riley quickly turned around and found himself face to face with Abigail. "Oh, hey, Abi. Fancy seeing you here."

Abigail crossed her arms and looked at the younger man curiously. "I work here," she told him. "Riley, what's going on?"

"Nothing at all."

"Oh, really?" Abigail raised her eyebrow suspiciously. Then, she looked behind him at her anxious husband. "Ben, what's going on?"

Ben looked genuinely uncomfortable as he walked over to the two of them. "Well… you see…"

"Riley. Ben. It's good to see you two came on time."

That voice- Riley now dreaded that voice because of the man who it belonged to. He slowly turned around and found himself facing his older brother. A pale Amy stood behind him, shaking as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You look a little scrawny there, Riley," Dustin commented with a smirk. "How about another one of those cookies that you love so much?"

Riley glared at him angrily, but before he could say anything, Ben stepped forward. "Let's just make this exchange as fast as possible," he said.

Dustin shrugged. "All right. Give me the clue."

Ben turned back to look at Riley, glancing for only a brief second at his very confused wife. "Riley. The clue."

Yep, he knew it. Riley fished the clue he had copied from the book out of his pocket and handed it to the older man, knowing that this was going to be the only time he would talk to him until Abigail was out of danger. All he really needed him for was the clue. But then, the good thing in this situation was that he was now thirteen cents richer… figuratively speaking, of course.

"Here," Ben said, handing the older Poole the clue.

Dustin unfolded the paper that he had been given and looked it over, looking back at Amy and nodding. She then ran out from behind him and past Ben, anxious to get as far away from Dustin as possible, but Riley gently grabbing her arms stopped her.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly. "Ian or Dustin didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, I'm fine," Amy answered shakily, tears still falling from her green eyes as she ignored the look of confusion that she was getting from Abigail. "I just… want to go home now…"

Riley nodded, pulling Amy into his arms to try to calm her down. "Don't worry. We'll bring you home," he told her in an assuring way. Amy smiled at him gratefully as she started to wipe her tears away, feeling somewhat calmed from being in his comforting embrace.

"What does it mean?" Dustin muttered after he read the clue again.

"It's talking about Jesse James," Ben explained quietly, unsure of what they had gotten from the clue that Nick had brought them but wanting to tell him as little as possible. "The place where he met his tragic end was in St. Joseph, Missouri. We believe that the treasure is there somewhere."

Dustin nodded. "Thank you," he said, folding up the paper and putting it in his pocket. "I'll have Ian keep in contact with you. See you later."

But Ben roughly grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "Call off Powell," he hissed in a whisper.

The older Poole smirked. "Don't worry, Ben. Since this exchange went the way that Ian wanted, Powell will leave when I do."

Ben instantly released Dustin's arm, anxious for him to leave. Dustin's grin widened. "See you later, Ben." Then, he disappeared into the crowed of people.

"We have to bring Amy home, Ben," Riley said once the treasure hunter rejoined them.

"I know. That's fine," Ben muttered, turning his attention to his wife and gently taking her arms. "Abigail, are you all right?"

"Perfectly all right," Abigail replied as she looked into Ben's eyes suspiciously, confused about his behavior. "Why are you asking?"

But Ben sighed with relief as he let go of her arms. "We'll catch you up later," he promised her. "Just… just go back to work. Your lunch break is over."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley sighed as he finished packing his bag, zipping it shut before placing his laptop on top of it. Ben was now in his normal, somewhat cheerful mood since Abigail was out of danger and was going to be returning home soon, but the younger man couldn't help but feel as though he had been tossed to the side, that if he and Abigail were teetering on a big, golden slab and would fall to certain doom, Ben would save Abigail. He sighed again, trying to push these thoughts aside. Instead, he thought about how they were soon going to be flying to Missouri to find his family's treasure. But his mood was dampened again when he realized that Ian, Nick, Dustin, and Powell would be going also…

"Hey, Riley," Ben said as he suddenly entered the room. "I have all mine and Abigail's things packed. Are you ready so we can leave when she gets home?"

"Yeah," Riley muttered, standing up to stretch. "Yeah, I'm ready…"

Ben's eyes narrowed in concern. "Riley, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Riley answered, turning his back on the older man so that he couldn't tell that he was lying. "I'm fine, Ben."

"No, you're not," Ben observed, walking forward and placing his hand on the techie's shoulder. "You've been awful quiet since this morning. What's going on?"

Riley sighed and hung his head, still not looking at his friend. "Would you have done the same if it would have been me, Ben?"

Ben blinked with surprise at the sudden question. "What do you mean?" he said, though he had a pretty good idea what he was talking about.

"I mean, would you still be so… I don't know… _angry_ if _I_ was the one that Ian was using against you and not Abi?" Riley explained, finally turning to face the older man.

The treasure hunter sighed. "Riley, listen to me," Ben told him, sitting down on the bed. "Abigail is my wife. You are my best friend. I would even go as far as to say that I'm beginning to consider you my little brother. But it doesn't matter if it was you or Abigail that Ian threatened. I would react the same way because I care about you both, and I don't know what I would do if something happened to either one of you."

Riley considered his statement as he slowly sat down on the bed beside the older man. "Really?" he asked.

Ben nodded. "Really," he answered.

"What if Abi and I were on a teetering golden slab and would fall to our deaths?"

"I would try to save both of you."

Riley smiled, satisfied with that answer. He had been worried about Abigail too when he had heard Ian say that he was watching her, but he just hadn't acted upon it like Ben had. No matter how annoying Abigail could be at times, she was still his sister just like Ben was his brother; not blood related of course since that would be weird.

But as he shook Ben's hand as a form of truce, Riley realized that he had the two best friends in the world.

**A/N**: All right, that's it for this chapter! In the next one, they're flying to Missouri! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies are mine blah, blah, blah… And neither is Breaking Benjamin.

**A/N**: Hey, guys! I'm back with another quick update. Thanks to **daisyduke80**, **fantomfairy**, **AliuIce0814**, **Dreams of Leilani**, **Halo**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **Majestik Moose**, and **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh** for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! Nothing exciting has really happened on my end, except for a March Christmas exchange, so let's get on with the story!

Chapter 20

"_I'll follow you if you follow me,_

_I don't know why you lie so clean._

_I'll break right through the irony…"_

Riley looked out the window at the deepening sky, listening to his iPod loudly so that he could block out the fancy classical stuff playing on the radio that Abigail liked so much. The only reason that it was playing on the first place was because Abigail was still angry at them for forcing her to come fly to Missouri with them, and also because she wasn't too thrilled that Ian had threatened and used her without her knowing. Riley almost laughed aloud when he remembered how long she had ranted and raved about how she was going to beat Ian to a pulp when she met him in St. Joseph. Right. Like that was going to happen…

Ben pulled into the parking lot of the airport, mentally making a note of where they parked. They wouldn't need it in Missouri anyway since they were going to get a rental car. Abigail glared at Ben and Riley as they walked inside, and the glare continued as they picked up the tickets that they had already bought, and even when they sat down to wait for their plane to arrive.

"Are you ever going to stop giving us that glare?" Ben asked with a sigh.

"No," Abigail answered, crossing her arms.

Ben looked at her pleadingly. "We're sorry, all right?" he said. "Please, can you just forgive us?"

Abigail sighed. "Look, Ben," she muttered. "You don't tell me that we're flying to another state until the day we're supposed to leave. Do you know what it's like explaining that to my boss? Just imagine it for a minute. I'm lucky that I wasn't fired, Ben! Granted we have a lot of money right now, but what happens when that runs out? You don't have a job, Ben, and if I had gotten fired, we would have no money. How would we support ourselves then, Ben?"

Riley turned away from the bickering couple, instantly relieved that he wasn't married. He remembered that Patrick and Emily had been fighting about something eerily similar to this when Emily had said that one of them had to grow up and take care of Ben. His two best friends were now beginning to turn into Patrick and Emily junior. Thank God they didn't have any children…

Speaking of Ben's parents, Riley remembered that Ben had called them to tell them that they were flying to St. Joseph, Missouri. Patrick had seemed okay with it, though Emily was a little wary of the idea since they hadn't been told why they were going. Then again, she was a mother and had to know where her children were at all times.

Ben sighed. "Treasure hunting is my life, Abigail," he told her in a whisper. "I can't change who I am."

"Hence why I am still glaring at you," Abigail returned.

Riley laughed a little. "Come on, Abi," he said. "Would you love him any other way?" The question was meant to brighten the mood a bit, but a sudden realization hit the younger man. Sure he had known Ben a little in college, but if he hadn't been so intent on finding treasure, he would never have earned Ben as a brother. He never would have had some of the most exciting adventures that he would only have dreamed of otherwise. He never would have escaped from his tiny, windowless cubicle. Riley smiled to himself. He was relieved that Ben was a treasure hunter.

Abigail looked from Riley to Ben, sighing as she slowly uncrossed her arms and as the glare disappeared from her face. "No, I wouldn't," she muttered, a small smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Just promise me that you'll give me some warning next time you suddenly decide to fly south." Ben threw a smile to Riley, grateful for him making Abigail at least civil again.

Then, his cell phone rang. Ben quickly took it out of his pocket, frustrated that he didn't have much of a signal, and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ben."

Ben's breath caught in his chest when he heard the voice. "Ian," he muttered, watching as Riley and Abigail gave him startled looks. "What do you want?"

"Just calling to wish you a happy flight, Ben. After all, it's only polite," Ian said. "Because of some scheduling conflicts, we will not be able to fly down until tomorrow evening. But I want the next clue when we arrive. I know there has to be another one after the one you gave Dustin. It would be best for you to cooperate, if you know what I mean. I'll give you a call when we reach St. Joseph. But for now, enjoy your flight." Then, Ian hung up.

"What did he say, Ben?" Abigail asked, watching as her husband flipped his phone shut and put it back into his pocket.

"Just wishing us a good flight," Ben answered, getting to his feet and grabbing his luggage when he saw that their plane had arrived. "Also, they won't be coming until tomorrow night, so that gives us some time to finalize things before they arrive."

"I don't know about you guys, but something about Ian telling us to enjoy our flight freaks me out," Riley muttered, following his two best friends to the gate. "Do we want to get on this plane now, or is it cursed?"

xxxxxxxxxx

Take-off went by smoothly, and so did the first half of the flight. Ben and Abigail were talking about things they may possibly see in Missouri while Riley ignored them as he listened to his iPod. He even flirted with the stewardess when she brought them water. The techie smiled as he leaned back against his seat. He loved flying. It was his favorite way of travel.

But about halfway through the flight, things began to go downhill. Riley's iPod battery was getting low, and he hadn't charged his laptop before he left Ben's house. The bad thing was, he would have to wait until they reached Missouri to charge both electronics. Great. Now he had nothing to distract him from Ben and Abigail's pointless conversations.

He was in the middle of putting his iPod and laptop away when the plane suddenly rocked violently. Riley froze, gripping on to the portable computer tightly as he looked around him fearfully. "What's going on?" he asked, seeing that his two friends had even shut up. This must not have been good.

"I don't know. Probably just some turbulence," Ben answered, looking up and down the aisle while many other people did the same. "Don't worry, Riley. I don't think it's anything to worry abo-!"

His sentence was sharply cut off when the plane jerked again, and he was roughly thrown from his seat into the aisle along with a few other people. "Ben!" Abigail shouted worriedly, helping him back up while Riley looked at his best friend with fear. "Are you all right?" Then, the younger man looked up when the voice of the pilot came on over the speaker.

_"Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. This is your pilot speaking. We are just passing through some stormy weather, and we should be past it soon. I repeat, do not worry, ladies and gentlemen."_

"See, Riley? I told you there's nothing to worry… about…" Ben began encouragingly, but his sentence trailed off when he saw that Riley was staring out of the window fearfully. The treasure hunter looked outside as well, and his eyes widened when he saw the mass of black that was called the sky, only lit up by a streak of lightning as rain pounded against the windows. They were going straight through a thunderstorm.

Everyone was suddenly thrown forward against the seats when the plane was rocked by a powerful crash of thunder. Riley rubbed his head where he had bumped it, but then his arms moved to around his stomach when he had the sudden urge to be sick. Though there wasn't any arsenic left in his system, his body was still weak from the element's effects and from him not being able to eat much. He would be lucky if he didn't pass out, he realized.

_"This is the pilot again, ladies and gentlemen. I just want to ask you to take this time to put on your seatbelts. I repeat, please take this time to put on your seatbelts. Thank you."_

"A little late for that," Riley muttered in a disgruntled way, slowly pushing himself into his seat and putting on his seatbelt.

Ben anxiously looked at his wife and best friend as he also put on his seatbelt. "Abigail. Riley. Are you both all right?" he asked.

Abigail nodded in answer, though she appeared to be worried, and Ben was horrified to see that Riley's face had turned very pale as the younger man looked back at him, just before the lights flickered and went out.

"Oh, great," Riley said to himself, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the seat when the plane rocked violently. Great. A power outage was exactly what he needed. He took back what he said before. Flying was his least favorite way of travel.

"Riley, are you all right?" Abigail muttered, brushing his bangs out of his closed eyes. She was worried when she felt a sheet of cold sweat had appeared on his forehead. "Riley?"

Then, she screamed when the plane began rocking again, but it didn't stop this time. Abigail closed her eyes and clung to Ben while Riley groaned as he kept his eyes tightly shut, holding his laptop close to him. Ben had one arm protectively around his wife while he clutched the armrest of his seat tightly so that his knuckles turned white.

After another few minutes of violent movement, the plane slowly calmed again as the lights flickered back on. _"I apologize, ladies and gentlemen. The stormy weather has passed, and it will be a smooth ride until we arrive in Missouri. Thank you."_

Abigail took a deep breath as she straightened up and pulled out of Ben's arm, unbuckling her seatbelt as she turned to her younger friend anxiously. "Riley, are you all right?"

Riley slowly nodded as his eyes fluttered open, but his face was still pale. Ben looked at his friend in concern for only a moment before unbuckling his seatbelt and walking out into the aisle, approaching the stewardess as she entered.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could come see my friend," Ben said. "He's not doing so well from passing through that thunderstorm."

The stewardess quickly followed him, Abigail got out of her seat so the woman could sit down beside Riley. "Sir, are you all right?" she asked.

"I should be," Riley muttered in answer, straightening up in his seat as he put his laptop away. "Just feeling a little lightheaded."

But the stewardess was concerned at seeing his pale complexion. "Do I need to bring you anything? Do you need a hospital?" she pressed. "Should I get the pilot?"

Riley shook his head. "No, I'll be fine," he told her firmly. "Some water would be good, though."

"I'll bring you some right away, Sir."

Ben and Abigail sat back down in their seats when the stewardess left, and they were surprised to see the playful smile that had appeared on Riley's face. "What are you smiling about?" the treasure hunter asked in disbelief.

Riley laughed a little. "See? I told you that this plane was cursed by Ian."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Just as the pilot had promised, the remainder of the flight went smoothly. Riley regained his strength as the color returned to his face, and soon his sarcastic humor returned full force, which Abigail and Ben weren't sure was a good or bad thing.

The plane soon landed at a small county a little outside of St. Joseph, and after going through the airport, the three friends could see that it was still raining a little. Riley watched the drops fall to earth warily as the bus came to pick them up and bring them to where Ben was going to register their rental car. It was a boring wait at the car dealership since the man running it had a heavy Southern dialect and Ben couldn't understand him, but they were finally driving away with their light blue rental car thirty minutes later.

"That was… interesting," Abigail muttered, casting a smirk to her husband.

Ben rolled his eyes. "All right, so now I know that the plural of _ya'll_ is _all ya'll_," he said, glancing back at her for a second. "We'll be able to laugh about this in a few days."

"No, Ben. _Ya'll_ be laughing about it in a few days," Riley corrected teasingly, playing off of the Southern dialect that the car dealership guy had used on his best friend. "Abi and I are already laughing."

"And you have to admit that the bear hug he gave you was hilarious," Abigail added, giving Riley a high five.

"That man was stronger than he looked," Ben told them in his defense, wincing at the thought of the bear hug he had received. "I swear, some of my bones are crushed…"

Suddenly, Abigail screamed and pointed out the window in front of her. "Ben, look out!" she shouted in warning.

Ben's eyes snapped back to the road just in time to see in the headlights that a man with gray hair was standing in the road directly in front of their car. In his hands was a rifle.

**A/N**: Okay, I don't know if you can have a power outage on a plane without losing all power, but let's pretend for the sake of this story that it can happen, okay? Also, the "all ya'll" thing was a joke with my pastor, so I decided to throw it in since it worked so well. And this isn't looking good. A man with a rifle. Never the best situation. You'll have to find out in the next chapter who he is! Thanks for reading. Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from the movies is mine, but this strange, bearded man in the middle of the road with a rifle _may_ be mine… Evanescence is also not mine.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! Wow, a lot of reviews for the last chapter… With so many, I had to update! Welcome back to some people, and welcome aboard for some others! Just a little note, I wrote the beginning of this chapter while on a coach bus on my way to Minneapolis, so yeah. Thank you so, so much to **doodlegirll**, **Majestik Moose**, **daisyduke80**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **Miss Fenway**, **AliuIce0814**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Halo**, **anon**, and **Masterarcher** for all of your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! So, without further ado, here we go!

Chapter 21

Ben slammed on the brakes, Abigail clinging to the sides of her seat while Riley was nearly thrown through the windshield, grateful that he was wearing his seatbelt. The treasure hunter saw with relief that he had been able to stop in time without hitting the man, but then he watched nervously as the man slowly walked over to the side of the car and knocked on the window.

"Oh, sure, Ben. Roll down the window for the man with the gun," Riley muttered sarcastically as his best friend finally found the button to control the windows, ducking down behind the seats a little. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be known in the newspaper as the cute one that gets killed along with the idiot and his wife who rolled down the window."

Abigail glared back at him with a hint of nervousness in her eyes, watching apprehensively as her husband rolled down the window. "Yes, Sir?" Ben asked, trying to keep his tone as level as possible.

"All ya'll headin' to St. Joseph?" the man asked in a deep voice.

"Yes," Ben answered. "Is that all right?"

Surprisingly, the old man shook his head. "'Fraid not," he told him. "The road is flooded up ahead 'cause of all the rain. It won' be cleared 'till mornin'. Ya'll have to go down this side street to the motel for the night." He gestured down the dark road behind him with his rifle.

Ben inwardly sighed with irritation, but he smiled in the most convincing manner possible. "All right then. Thank you…" he began, but his sentence trailed off when he realized that he didn't know the man's name.

Seeming to know why the sentence wasn't being completed, a small smile that Ben didn't really trust appeared on the man's face as he pulled out a badge. "Jus' call me Bob," he said. "I'm the sheriff 'round these parts."

"Well, thank you, Bob," Ben muttered. "We'll just be on our way then."

"Drive safely." Bob nodded and stepped back as the treasure hunter rolled up the window, allowing space for Ben to go around him on to the side street. Riley looked behind them out the back window at Dave to make sure that they weren't going to be shot as they drove away from him, and his eyes widened in surprise when the man gave him a small smile and seemed to vanish into the night.

"Uh, guys. He just… He just disappeared…" Riley muttered, pointing out the window.

Ben glanced into his rearview mirror while Abigail turned around in her seat to look at him. "Riley, it's dark outside and there are shadows out there," she said. "Ever think of that?"

Riley stuck his tongue out at her, but he turned back to the window, knowing that what she said wasn't what he had seen happen. Then, he groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I think all the medication I've been taking is finally starting to get to me."

The rest of the drive was silent, thoughts of Bob pushed out of their minds. Ben finally pulled into the parking lot of the motel that the sheriff had directed him toward, and they hurried inside of the building with their bags since the rain had started up heavily again. The lobby was small, but they were quickly out after Ben ordered two rooms- one for him and Abigail and the other for Riley.

"All right, here's your room key," Ben said, handing it to his best friend. "We're right next door, so don't hesitate to come knock if you need anything."

"Yeah, same to you… I guess," Riley replied slowly. "But has anyone else noticed that we're the only guests in this motel tonight?"

Ben smiled. "This is a motel in a county a little outside of St. Joseph," he explained. "I don't think too many people stop here."

Riley shrugged. "I'm just saying that I've seen _way_ too many horror movies," he muttered as he unlocked his room and opened the door.

"Don't be afraid, Riley," Ben laughed as he unlocked his and Abigail's room as well. "We're right here. Have a good night."

"Night." And with that one word, Riley and his luggage locked themselves in the room.

Ben shook his head as he pushed open the door to their room, seeing in the dim light from the lamp that there was a decent sized bed in the corner of the small room with a television on the opposite wall. A wooden desk was right beside the door, and a plotted plant was in the remaining corner. But even with the lamp, there was a chill that was lingering in the air. The treasure hunter sighed, especially when he saw that there was a window directly above the bed. This was going to be a long night.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears._

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears._

_And I've held your hand through all of these years._

_But you still have all of me."_

After putting their luggage against the wall and changing into their pajamas, Ben and Abigail climbed into the bed. Though the room itself was cold, the covers were soft and warm, providing some relief. Ben turned off the lamp beside them and lay close to Abigail, closing his eyes as he tried to make himself comfortable without much success. He never really did feel comfortable sleeping in motels or hotels…

"Ben, are you awake?"

"What do you think?" Ben muttered with a smile, opening his eyes and seeing that Abigail had turned over and was looking at him. "You know me with motels. What's on your mind?"

Abigail sighed and propped her head up on her arm, Ben soon doing the same. "I've been thinking about some things… about us," she told him. "You know, being married and all."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at, Abigail?" he asked.

"Well… children," Abigail finally answered with a smile.

"_Children_?" Ben repeated, raising his eyebrows at her answer and wondering if he had heard her correctly. "What about them?"

Abigail laughed at her husband's surprised expression. "What I mean to say is should we start a family," she elaborated. "It's not like both of us are very busy or anything…"

"Well… um…" Ben cleared his throat, knowing that she was hinting at him not having a real job. "Are you saying that you… want children?"

"At least one," Abigail confirmed with a smile. "Think about it, Ben. A fresh, bundle of joy in our strange, little family. Wouldn't it be great?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Ben muttered uncomfortably. "But… do you think we're ready?"

Abigail's smile broadened, and she laid her head on his chest once he was lying back down. "I think so," she told him. "You'd make a great father. Besides, at least you'd have some company while I'm away at work."

Ben looked deep into his wife's eyes, a small smile creeping on to his face. "If you're sure…"

"I am," Abigail said firmly with shining eyes.

After another minute, Ben leaned forward and kissed Abigail, running his hand through her blonde hair. "I love you," he muttered, putting his arm around her waist.

Abigail smiled as she kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Ben."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riley gasped as he quickly opened his eyes, his breathing heavy as he looked around him at the room. He didn't understand why his father's death and the image of his brother continued to haunt his dreams. They already plagued his waking thoughts, and now sleep wasn't offering him any comfort.

Then, he suddenly cried out when he saw a dark shape by the door of the room. Riley quickly reached up and turned on the lamp beside his bed, his heartbeat beginning to return to normal when he saw that it was only the coat rack and not some crazy murderer who always seemed to somehow appear in all of the horror movies. Knowing that his nightmares were beginning to strongly affect him, he slowly got to his feet and left the room, deciding not to bother Ben and Abigail with this small matter as he wandered down the hall toward the lobby where he remembered seeing a water bubbler. He knew a small glass should calm him down a bit. Riley grabbed one of the plastic cups and filled it with water when he found the bubbler, relieved that it did seem to calm his nerves a bit when he took a sip.

"Oh. I didn't know that anyone else was in this motel."

Riley gasped and dropped the cup on the floor when he heard the sudden voice, the water quickly spreading out and seeping into the wood. He quickly looked behind him, seeing in the dim moonlight that an old woman was sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby. "Neither did I…" he muttered, quickly bending down and picking up the plastic cup off the ground. "My friends and I are staying here for the night because the road to St. Joseph is flooded."

"Yes, I know. I saw you three check in," the old woman said, which surprised Riley because he didn't remember anyone being there when they arrived. Then, her eyes narrowed in concern when she saw Riley shiver in the dampness of the room. "Come now, dear. Let's get you back to your room before you catch your death."

"You don't have a Southern accent," Riley observed as she put the shawl that she was wearing around his shoulders.

The woman smiled. "I'm from the North, and I'm just visiting some family that I have down here," she explained. "Now, which room is yours, dear?" 

Riley led her to his room and opened the door, stepping into the warm, welcoming light. The woman entered after him, looking around at the interior. Then, her eyes seemed to brighten up when she saw the cross pendant around his neck. "Beautiful gem you have there."

"Oh, thank you," Riley said, looking down at it also. "It's just something that my dad gave to me before he died."

"Hmm… It looks old. From around the year 1882 I would guess," the old woman muttered, holding it in the palm of her wrinkled hand. "You know, I say that because I've heard stories that the bandit Jesse James gave a pendant exactly like this to an eight-year-old girl before he died."

"How did you know about that?" Riley asked nervously, thinking that only he, Ben, Abigail, Daniel, and his line of ancestors knew the truth behind the jade cross. There was definitely something off about this woman…

But the woman laughed and merely shrugged her shoulders at the question. Then, her eyes traveled to the wooden desk that was standing against the wall across from them. "Oh, look, hon. Your desk drawer is open a little"

Riley followed her gaze and saw that the drawer truly was open slightly. He slowly approached it and grabbed the handle, planning on closing it. But his curiosity overtook him and he pulled it open instead.

Inside was a single brown, leather book with the faded word _journal_ on the cover. Riley carefully lifted it out and delicately opened it to the first yellowed page. His eyes widened when he saw the name on the line: _Clara Poole, 1882._

"Oh my God…" Riley whispered in shock, shutting the book. "I have to show this to Ben!"

But when he turned around, he found himself in the old woman's arms. "Whatever you need to do can wait until morning," she told him soothingly. "You need to get some sleep now, my dear."

"But I can't…" Riley began, but his protest trailed off when a feeling of exhaustion came over him from the woman's calming presence, and his eyes closed as he fell into a deep sleep. With surprising strength that didn't seem to suit her, the old woman picked him up into her arms and laid him gently down on the bed, carefully taking her shawl from around his shoulders and the journal from his limp hand and placing them neatly on top of the desk. Then, she moved back to the bed and covered him up with the blankets.

"Good night, Riley," she whispered, running her hand through her hair. "Sleep well." Then, she turned out the lights and left the room, locking the door behind her.

**A/N**: Hmm… Who is this woman? And what about that sheriff guy? I don't know. I guess you'll have to find out! I have the rest of this story pretty much planned out, and there's going to be 26 chapters plus an epilogue. And if I reach 200 reviews (which it looks like I probably will), I'll throw in an extra surprise after the epilogue. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you! 


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer**: Just so everyone knows, I do not own anything from the movie. Everything else belongs to me.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! Okay, get this. I'm supposed to be on _spring_ break right now, but it's more like _winter_ break all over again because we had over a foot of snow! Not cool! But, at least I can still update. Since I'm on break, I can probably get more updates out faster and maybe get done before it's over. No promises though. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, including **fantomfairy**, **Fantasy's Magic**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **daisyduke80**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **riley-poole27**, **Halo**, **Anon.**, **AliuIce0814**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Hakumele**, **Maria Blue**, and **Majestik Moose**! You guys rock! Also, Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it! This is my gift to you. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 22

Riley slowly opened his eyes to the sound of knocking. Not realizing what it was, he groaned with irritation and put the pillow over his head. But then, he gasped when the sound reached his ears again but louder this time and realized that it was coming from the door of the room, and he clumsily got out of bed and rushed to the door, quickly opening it.

"Hey, Riley. I take it that you're not ready yet," Ben greeted, Abigail laughing a little from beside him when she saw that he was still in his pajamas.

"Good morning to you, too," Riley said sarcastically, leaving the door and allowing the couple to enter the room. "I had kind of a crazy night…" Then, he suddenly remembered what had happened. "Ben, there's another guest in the motel!"

Ben's eyes narrowed with confusion. "No there isn't, Riley. The man at the front desk said that we were the only ones here last night." Then, he placed his hand on the younger man's forehead to check his temperature.

"I swear to you, Ben. I'm not going crazy!" Riley replied desperately, pulling away from his best friend's hand. "I went to the lobby to get some water after a nightmare that I had, and there was an old lady sitting in there. She told me that she was from the North visiting some family down here."

"Riley… there isn't anyone else in the motel," Ben repeated softly, almost hesitantly. "Maybe… maybe you were just imagining it…"

"No, Ben. I know what I saw!" Riley said with frustration. "She was here! She gave me her shawl, and then I found this journal…" His sentence slowly trailed off. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it must have just been his imagination. He remembered the man working at the front desk saying that the three friends had been the only ones to stay there for weeks.

Abigail wandered over to the desk on the opposite side of the room, her eyes landing on two objects that were sitting on top of it. "Um, Ben. Come here. You may want to see this."

Ben approached his wife, Riley slowly following behind him, and both were shocked to see that there was a neatly folded white shawl on the desk's surface. On top of that sat a worn, brown, leather book with the word _journal _faintly on the cover.

"See? I wasn't imagining it!" Riley exclaimed. "There _is_ someone else here!"

Ben ignored the younger man as he slowly picked up the journal, opening to the front page to see who it belonged to. "Clara Poole…" he muttered, beginning to flip through the rest of the pages and scanning her neat handwriting. "I wonder how this got here."

"This must have been from when she was a child," Abigail commented, looking at the old book also. "Remember how Daniel told us that she never got the chance to return to the South when she was older?"

"Well no matter what, this will provide us with some good insight," Ben stated, closing the journal and handing it to Riley. "You take that. Hurry and get changed, and then we can look it over."

"Can we leave the motel before we look at it?" Riley asked. "This place is really beginning to freak me out."

Ben smiled, leading Abigail toward the door. "All right. Just hurry up then."

The old motel really must have been scaring Riley because Ben and Abigail were waiting in the hallway for only about five minutes until their younger friend was completely ready. Normally, it took a lot longer from him to get moving once he was woken up, especially without the incentive of breakfast. They went to the lobby, Abigail and Riley waiting anxiously while Ben returned the keys and checked them out of the motel.

"So, we were the only ones here last night, correct?" Ben wondered casually once he finished signing the checkout papers. "There was no one else here?"

"Tha's righ', Sir," the man behind the desk told him. "No one was here 'sides you three."

"There was no old lady here?" Riley pressed.

The man shook his head. "Nope. Jus' you three."

"Thank you for your time and for letting us stay here," Ben said, glancing at Riley. "But we should probably get going now."

"My pleasure," the man replied cheerfully. "Ya'll drive safe now!"

Ben led the way out of the motel and to the car, unlocking it as he climbed in behind the wheel. "So, there wasn't anyone else in the motel with us last night…"

"But there _had_ to be someone there, Ben," Abigail countered, holding up the shawl that they had taken from the room. "Someone had to be there to give this to Riley. We didn't bring it with us."

"Either that or we have something else on our hands," Riley added quietly, looking at the motel apprehensively. 

Ben sighed as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove back toward the main road. "Look, I'm sure that there's a perfectly logical explanation for what happened last night," he told them, rolling his eyes. "Let's not assume that it's anything supernatural or anything like that, all right?"

"What if it is, Ben?" Riley asked, leaning back against the seat as he carefully took Clara's journal out of his bag.

"Riley, there are no such things as ghosts," Ben stated firmly.

"How do you know? Have you ever seen one? How do you think they feel about that, Ben? You probably just hurt their feelings."

"Have _you_ ever seen one, Riley?"

"Okay, boys. Just stop," Abigail commanded from the passenger seat. "It may be ghosts, it may not be, but there is definitely a reason for it. Oh, here's the main road now, Ben."

Ben slowed the car to a stop at the intersection where they had almost hit the sheriff, but they were shocked to see that there wasn't a police station or anything there that Bob could have come from or gone to the previous night.

"Maybe he did just disappear after all…" Riley muttered, mainly trying to lighten the mood.

Ben shook his head as he turned left on to the main road, heading toward St. Joseph. "Riley, don't make me say it again. Everything is _normal_," he stressed. "But at least now we can see how bad the road was flooded last night."

Riley glared at the back of Ben's head, but then his attention switched to the journal as he opened to a random entry toward the front and began to read.

_Sept. 4_

_I just arrived in Missouri today, and I cannot wait to see my grandfather again. It has been such a long time since I have seen him since his job took him South. But I am finally here after a long and rather tedious train ride, and now I am taking a carriage because the train station is in a small county outside of St. Joseph. I should be there shortly. But there seems to be trouble. Robert Ford, a sheriff from St. Joseph, is standing on the road ahead. He has his rifle and is directing us in a different direction than where we need to go. I cannot hear all of what he is telling the driver, but I can here something about the road ahead being flooded from all of the rain they had just had and it will not be cleared until morning. He goes on to say something about a rest house down the street and how we will have to stay there for the night. We drive past him, but as I look at his smile, there is something that I do not like about him. But I will continue my entry tonight once we are settled in at the rest house. I only hope that I will not have to stay there too long, for I want so badly to see my grandfather again._

"Well, this is weird."

Riley slowly looked up from the journal page, Abigail's words bringing him out of the year 1882 and putting him back in the present. "What's weird?" he asked.

"Remember how that sheriff told us that the road was flooded last night? Well, there's no sign of flooding," Abigail answered him. "And look. There's the sign that tells us we're entering St. Joseph."

Sure enough. Riley read, _Hello, St. Joseph welcomes you_, in big, bold lettering on the sign as they passed it, but then he looked back down at the journal page. "Uh, you guys may want to hear this," he muttered before he began to read aloud the entry that he had just read to himself.

Abigail's eyes narrowed once he was finished. "I admit, that is kind of strange," she commented. "You don't think that we all imagined the sheriff from last night, do you?"

"No, we all couldn't have imagined it," Riley told her, shaking his head. "It could be-!"

"Riley, please don't say what I think you're going to say," Ben said. "That sheriff last night was _not_ Robert Ford."

"I wasn't going to say that, but that is a good theory, Ben."

"And you know, it _is_ said that strange, unexplainable things happen in places that hold a lot of history," Abigail added.

"All right, let's just stop talking about ghosts," Ben snapped, sounding agitated as he pulled over on to the side of the road across from the travel center. "Now, I'm going to go inside and find a hotel that we can stay at and possibly some of the well-known attractions. Do you want to come with?"

"I do," Abigail said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Riley, how about you?"

But Riley shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll stay here," he replied. "I want to look at this journal some more."

Ben nodded. "Okay, we'll be back soon," he told him as he stepped outside. "I'll lock the doors."

"Go for it." Riley saw Ben's grin and smiled himself. Then, he watched his two best friends walk across the street and enter the travel center. Then, his gaze curiously moved out the window to see what was on his side of the street.

A large graveyard met his eyes, filled with many rows of tombstones, some cracked or faded with age. Just how old was this cemetery?"

Suddenly struck by inspiration when he remembered the story that Daniel had told him about the treasure, Riley quickly but carefully flipped through Clara's journal, finally finding her entry on the day where Jesse James had given her the map and pendant. After reading it through quickly, he saw that the cemetery she had been in was at the corner of Fifth and Eighth Street. The techie then looked out the window, searching for some street signs that would give him their location. When he found them, he smiled.

Fifth and Eighth Street. This was the same cemetery where Clara had gotten the map. He could get his father's clue right now. Riley looked back at the travel center and saw that Ben and Abigail were still inside. If he hurried, he may even be able to get it before they returned to the car and found him gone. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get the final clue on his own.

Riley climbed over the seat and sat on the passenger's side, unlocking the door and stepping out of the car, shutting it behind him before entering the cemetery. He slowly moved through the rows of tombstones, heading toward the back where Jesse James had brought Clara to give her the map. Only glancing briefly at the names on the headstones as he passed them, the techie soon came to a large tree, providing some shade from the blazing sun above. Riley stood at the base and looked up at the leaf-filled branches, wondering where his father could have left the clue. He couldn't believe that his ancestor had stood in this same spot decades before, and this is where she had gotten the map.

"Ya'll won' find any loved ones up there."

With a gasp, Riley quickly turned around and saw that a man with a large beard was walking toward him. Since he had a shovel over his shoulder, he assumed that this man must have been the caretaker. "I'm just enjoying every aspect of this beautiful cemetery," the techie hurriedly explained as the man stopped in front of him.

"This is an ancien' cem'try," the man replied with a small smile, leaning on the shovel. "They say legends are buried here from hundreds o' years ago."

"It's that old?" Riley asked, amazed.

The man nodded. "Yep, she is," he answered. "Now, who are ya' lookin' for? I may be able to help."

Riley hesitated for a minute, and then sighed. "Well, I'm not exactly looking for someone," he muttered hesitantly. "You see, my dad left me something here…"

"Oh, you're tha' kid, are ya'?" the man suddenly asked with a laugh. "But just to make sure tha' it really _is_ ya'…" He reached forward and pulled on the string that was around Riley's neck, revealing the jade cross pendant from beneath his shirt.

"Hey!" Riley said, startled as he pulled it back from the man. "What are you doing?"

The man's eyes shone. "Jeremy left somthin' important beneath this tree," he told him quietly, shocking Riley into silence. "Luckily I was able to get it an' give it to ya' before it was too late."

"Who are you?" Riley asked in a whisper, beginning to wish that he had waited for Ben and Abigail to come with him into the cemetery to get the clue.

Instead of answering, the man reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment that looked fragile and ancient. Riley delicately took it, but before he could unroll it, he was handed another piece of paper. 

"Read tha' one first," the man said with a wink when the techie looked at him with confusion.

Riley looked at him for another long moment before slowly unfolding the sheet of paper. In his father's handwriting was a riddle. He sighed and read aloud quietly to himself:

"_Crooked is straight,_

_Straight is crooked,_

_You are almost at your journey's end._

_Close to your heart_

_The key now lies._

_Look there for answers,_

_Each beat will be your guide."_

"All righty. What is that supposed to mean?" Riley asked to no one in particular.

"Riley!"

The techie quickly looked up at the distant sound of his name, recognizing the voice to belong to Ben.

"Riley!"

And there was Abigail. They must have returned to the car and found him gone. Maybe he could convince them that he had been abducted by aliens or something when he went back. Riley then quickly folded the paper and put it into his pocket. "Do you have any idea…" he began to ask of the man who had given him the clue, but the question trailed off when he saw that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Geeze, why do I always meet the weird people?" Riley muttered, beginning to gently unroll the fragile parchment that he had also been given. His eyes landed on a carefully drawn picture of what appeared to be a large house of some sort, some words neatly placed in certain places to form what appeared to be a legend to a…

"It's a map," Riley whispered, ignoring the continuous shouts of his name. He held in his hands the map that led to the treasure of Jesse James.

**A/N**: All right, there we go! The final clue has been revealed along with the map, but will they figure it out? I don't know, you'll have to wait to find out! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I disclaim everything that belongs to Disney, but Dustin and Nick are mine

**Disclaimer**: I disclaim everything that belongs to Disney, but Dustin and Nick are mine! Avril Lavigne is not mine either.

**A/N**: Hey, I hope everyone's holiday was great (if you celebrated it), and mine was very special since I got to hold my six-month-old cousin for the first time! She's adorable! But anyway, I've been asked to join another fanfiction-type website called . I'm on it, but I'm only putting on my National Treasure stuff right now since I have written anything outside of that that's Disney yet. So, yeah! Thank you so much to **Fantasy's Magic**, **Majestik Moose**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **daisyduke80**, **Maira Blue**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, and **Halo** for your wonderful reviews! I can't believe I've broken 200. Since that is the case, there will be a special surprise after the epilogue, which will be after chapter 26. Enjoy this chapter! Oh, yeah. And in my story, Emily and Patrick are back together.

**Note**: I have no idea if this is the real address or not, but while I was researching Jesse James for this story, it gave an address of where his house is, so that's what I'm using. Also, there is a sad part in this chapter, so have some Kleenex by you our something, okay? No slash of course.

Chapter 23

Emily stood in the kitchen, making her favorite casserole for her and Patrick's lunch. But as she stirred in the last ingredients, her mind wandered to her son, his wife's, and his best friend's trip to Missouri. Patrick had told her many times that everything was going to be fine, but she had the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that something wasn't right. Ben hadn't told her why they were suddenly flying south, and he always told her his reasons for doing things. Something just didn't feel right…

Her nerves finally getting the best of her, Emily moved away from the stove and went to the phone, picking it up and dialing the number of the FBI. There was an answer after only the first ring.

"Hello, Agent Peter Sadusky, FBI."

"Yes, this is Emily Gates," Emily said, relieved that the agent had given her his direct line if she needed anything.

"Ah. Hello, Mrs. Gates. How are you?" Sadusky asked, his voice sounding cheerful.

"I'm all right," Emily answered him, her tone faltering with nerves. "But I'm concerned about Ben…"

Though she couldn't see him, she could sense the agent's change of mood. "What about Ben?"

Emily sighed. "Well, he called Patrick and I yesterday to tell us that he was flying to St. Joseph, Missouri with Abigail and Riley," she explained. "He didn't tell us why, which unusual for him. I'm sorry for calling you since it's probably nothing, but I just feel that something's not right. It could just be motherly instinct, I suppose…"

"No, Mrs. Gates. You did the right thing," Sadusky assured her. "But is there anything that he said to you that might give you an idea about why he suddenly decided to leave?"

"No, not really…" Emily muttered as she shook her head. "Oh, wait! Yes, there was something. He called me asking for the address of Jesse James a little while ago."

By the agent's silence, Emily could tell that he was as puzzled as she was. "Did you give it to him?" he asked.

"Yes. It's 1318 Lafayette Street," Emily answered, hearing the faint sound of a pen quickly scribbling over a piece of paper. "I just don't know why they would need it."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Gates. We'll find out for you," Sadusky told her. "I'll gather some of my men and we'll fly down as soon as we can."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Riley, please. You were _not_ abducted by aliens," Abigail muttered. "They've already sent you to stay for a long visit on this planet, and they're not ready to take you back yet." The three friends were heading up on the elevator to their room on the seventh floor in the hotel that they were staying in. Riley had been quiet about where he had gone and what he had done while the couple had been in the travel center… until now.

"Well, okay. Maybe my _real_ family hasn't taken me back yet, but I did have a strange encounter of a different kind," Riley replied, being somewhat sarcastic. "Remember that old lady and that sheriff we encountered last night? Well, I've met another one of… _them_."

Ben rolled his eyes as the elevator stopped and made the annoying dinging noise, the doors opening as they stepped out. "Riley, I'm sure that there's a logical explanation for what you saw," he said irritably. "There are no ghosts. Who do you think it was this time, anyway? Jesse James or something?"

"No…" Riley looked at the back of the older man's head warily. Though he didn't say anything, the sarcastic comment hit deep. Ever since his father died, he had noticed a change in his best friend. The treasure hunter seemed to be getting more and more irritable, angrier and angrier as time went on, but he kept those feelings trapped inside of him…

Abigail seemed to notice how badly this statement affected Riley because she suddenly took her husband's hand in her own. "Ben, are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," Ben answered, putting his copy of the room key into the slot and pushing open the door when the light flashed green. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Riley and Abigail exchanged doubtful looks before they slowly followed him into the room. They were first met with a door on their right that opened to a bathroom. A little farther in were two double beds against one wall with a small dresser in between them. Across the room was a desk, television, and radio, and on the far wall were three comfortable-looking chairs placed around a window that gave them a great view of the city.

The techie set his bags on the bed nearest the window, smiling at his two best friends. "It's a tradition for me to explore the hotel as soon as I get my room," Riley explained, grabbing his copy of the room key. "Wanna' join me?"

"I will," Abigail told him, picking up her purse after setting her luggage on the other bed beside Ben's bags. "I think I'll stop at the lobby to see if they have anything to eat. Ben, do you want to come, honey?"

Ben shook his head. "No, I think I'll stay here," he replied. "I have a lot to think about." Then, he kissed his wife. "You two have fun."

"All right," Abigail muttered unsurely, moving to the door with Riley. "We'll bring you back something if we find a snack." Then, they were gone.

He was exhausted. There was something about traveling that always made him so much more tired than normal. Ben sighed, running his hand through his hair. Why was he feeling so angry? But then, he realized that his hot temper was directed toward Dustin because of what he had done to Riley. He had put his own little brother through so much pain, both mentally and physically, that he would love to have the chance to return it to him doubled.

No. That wasn't like him. The thought that he wanted to hurt Dustin scared him so much that Ben turned on the radio, allowing the music to fill his ears as he lay down on the bed to think of finding the treasure instead. But the horrible thought that he had mostly taken out his anger on Riley and Abigail crept into his mind as his exhaustion overcame him, the song lulling him to close his eyes…

"_When you're gone,_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you._

_When you're gone,_

_The face I came to know is missing too._

_And when you're gone,_

_The words I need to hear_

_Will always get me through the day,_

_And make it okay._

_I miss you…"_

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben suddenly found himself in what appeared to be a small living room, which was strange because the last place he remembered being was in his hotel room alone. He looked around him, seeing that there was a picture hanging crookedly on the far wall. For some strange reason, it bothered him greatly, so he began to walk toward it to maybe straighten it out.

Then, he froze when he heard the soft click behind him. Ben slowly turned around and saw that Dustin was there, aiming a gun in his direction. Ian stood off to the side with Nick and Powell, who was holding another gun to Abigail's head. But Riley was nowhere to be seen.

"You made the wrong decision in not cooperating with us, Ben," the older Poole whispered, his finger hanging dangerously over the trigger.

"Dustin, lower the gun," Ian cautioned from where he stood, glaring at him. "It's not going to help anything!"

"Shut up, Ian!" Dustin snapped, turning his eyes back at Ben. "He doesn't want to tell us the clue, so this ends now."

"Dustin, don't!"

Time seemed to stop for Ben when he heard the other but familiar voice, though so many things happened all at once. Dustin's finger pressed down on the trigger and the bullet came flying at him, but then another force collided into him from the side and caused him to fall to the wooden floor. The treasure hunter looked up, seeing that that force had been Riley, and his eyes widened in horror while Abigail's scream of terror reached his ears as he watched the bullet tear through the younger man's chest.

"_Riley_!"

The shout didn't even sound like it was his own, for Ben thought he heard it come from somewhere else though he felt it come from his very heart. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, rushing over to where the limp Riley lay, and he gently picked him up into his arms.

The younger man looked deathly pale, his thin frame shaking with every forced breath he struggled to take. Ben quickly took off his thin jacket and pressed it down on the wound on Riley's chest, attempting to stop the blood flow. The techie whimpered in pain from the pressure, but the action caused him to slowly open his eyes. His deep blue orbs were dim and unfocused as he looked up at the older man. "Ben…"

"Stay with me, Riley!" Ben commanded urgently, shaking him a little when his eyes began to close again. "Come on! Don't close your eyes! Stay with me!"

But Riley smiled slightly, a small laugh escaping from him. "I'm sorry, Ben…" he whispered forcefully. Then, his eyes closed and his head lolled limply against Ben's arm.

Panicked, Ben tried everything he could think of to revive his friend, but nothing worked. "Riley?" he asked anxiously, his voice elevating to a frantic shout. "Riley! _Riley_!"

A sobbing Abigail suddenly dropped down beside him, hugging both him and the lifeless Riley. Her actions were all Ben needed to confirm that his best friend, his little brother, was truly gone. The older man looked up at Dustin and saw that a thin line of tears had formed and were slowly falling from his horror-filled eyes and running down his pale cheeks. The gun that he had accidentally killed his own brother with was lowered at his side.

His bottled anger finally coming to a boil, Ben gently gave Riley to Abigail and got to his feet. He approached Dustin with angry tears falling furiously from his own eyes, wrestling the gun away from him and pushing him to the floor. Making sure that the weapon was loaded, he aimed it at the older Poole, preparing to pull the trigger…

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Ben. Ben!"

With a scream, Ben's eyes snapped open, and he sat up with a start. He saw for a moment that Abigail and Riley were sitting on the bed beside him before the techie fell to the floor with a startled yelp. But he was back up quickly. "Ow…"

"Are you all right, Ben?" Abigail asked anxiously, wiping some of the bangs away from her husband's sweat-drenched forehead. "You fell asleep and were screaming when he came back. What happened?"

Ben looked from Abigail to Riley and back before covering his face with his hands. "Oh, God…" he muttered before uncontrolled tears began to escape from him.

Abigail looked at Riley nervously before moving closer to Ben and pulling him into her arms, trying to calm him as she ran her hands through his hair. Riley placed his hand on the older man's back, hoping that the small action would provide some comfort.

The three friends stayed that way for a while until Ben finally regained himself. Abigail and Riley looked at each other nervously. They had never seen the treasure hunter break down like this before… "Ben, what happened, honey?" Abigail finally ventured to ask when her husband pulled away from them, a thin line of tears in her eyes also.

Ben took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. "I had a horrible dream," he answered as calmly as he could. "It was so clear. We were in a house, I don't know where. But Dustin, Ian, and Powell were there, and Powell had a gun to your head, Abigail. Then, Dustin had a gun, and he was fighting with Ian. He wanted the clue, but I didn't know it. And so… he fired the gun at me. But… but…"

Abigail took Ben's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly while Riley put his arm around the older man's shoulders, both able to tell that it was difficult for him to continue. "Just say it, Ben," Abigail told him. "Just get it over with. We're here."

"You'll feel better," Riley added encouragingly.

Ben sighed heavily, tears beginning to resurface in his eyes. "The bullet didn't hit me," he finally muttered, struggling to blink his tears away. "You pushed me out of the way, Riley, and you… you were…"

Riley nodded in understanding, silently telling Ben that he didn't have to go on. "Look, man," he said with a small but reassuring smile. "I promise you, Ben, I'm not going anywhere. Nothing's gonna' happen to me."

Abigail smiled a little as she nodded in agreement, but a tear leaked from her eye. Ben looked at Riley for a long moment, but then he pulled him into an embrace. Riley hugged him back, taking a deep breath. Ben and Abigail meant everything to him since he considered them to be the only family he had left, and he would do anything to keep them safe… even if it meant what Ben had seen in his dream and knowing full well that Ben would do the same for him. Hopefully, it wouldn't come down to that.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Time began to pass more quickly at the hotel. More exploring was done as well as a short swim in the pool, involving water fights against a group of extremely annoying kids who had water guns. Ben forgot about his dream as the day went on, and he even began to enjoy the aspects of the hotel with his wife and best friend. By the time lunch came around, Abigail didn't eat anything since she claimed her stomach felt slightly strange. Riley found it weird and maybe even a matter of concern at first, but then he passed it off with the thought that there was more food for him.

When evening rolled into night, Ben, Abigail, and Riley sat on one of the beds to plan about the hunt for the treasure.

"All right. The last tour of Jesse James' home is at eight," Ben said. "It's seven now, so we can go pretty much anytime after that."

"Do we have the address?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, it's 1318 Lafayette Street," Ben answered him. "That's the address my mom gave me, as well as what was in the travel center."

Abigail sighed. "So, what are we going to do about Ian?" she wondered. "Are we going to just meet him there, or…"

"Why do we have to tell Ian anything anyway?" Riley cut in irritably. "We can just go find the treasure and get out of here on our own!"

Ben shook his head. "I don't know what we're going to do about Ian," he muttered, directing the response to his wife before turning his attention to the techie. "Though he never said specifically, we know that Ian will do anything to get what he wants. _Anything_. That means that he could kidnap another innocent bystander like Amy, or he could keep a close watch on someone like he did with Abigail, or he could hurt someone who knows about this hunt or not. He could hurt either of you two, or he could threaten my parents, who are still at home where he is."

"True…" Riley muttered with a small nod.

"What about the clue?" Abigail asked as if she was in a big rush. "Do we have it solved?"

"I don't have it solved, but here it is," Riley answered, taking the map and paper out of his bag. "Here. You can look at it."

Ben took the paper and unfolded it, clearing his throat before he read it. "Crooked is straight, straight is crooked, you are almost at your journey's end. Close to your heart the key now lies. Look there for answers, each beat will be your guide."

"You have no idea what it means, do you?" Abigail said, seeing her husband's confused expression.

"No…" Ben muttered as he read it over again to himself. "Jeremy left a difficult final clue."

"Probably because it's the _final_ clue," Riley said sarcastically. "But why don't we check out the map? That may help."

"Good idea, Riley," Ben replied, straightening his glasses. "Hand it here."

Riley gave him the old parchment, and the treasure hunter carefully unrolled it and spread it out on the bed between the three of them. "It looks like a house of some sort," Ben commented quietly, his eyes intently running over the precisely drawn picture. "But it gets confusion farther to the side…"

"That's what I thought too. Do you think it's Jesse James' house?" Riley asked.

"I don't know," Ben answered, meeting the younger man's gaze. "But we'll find out tonight."

As if on cue, Ben's cell phone rang. The treasure hunter quickly took it out of his pocket, put it on speaker, and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ben," the sneering voice of Ian filled the room. "We're here."

**A/N**: Well, that's it for this chapter! I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer**: Everything you recognize from Disney is not mine, but everything you recognize that is _not_ from Disney is.

**A/N**: Since you all asked so nicely, here is another update! If you didn't get a chance to review the last chapter, that's fine and feel free to review them both if you so wish! Thank you so much to **Majestik Moose**, **AliuIce0814**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **fantomfairy**, **Maddie**, **Halo** (yes, this is one of the two chapters that you are waiting for!), and **Maira Blue** for your wonderful reviews! I hope you enjoy this one as well!

**Note**: Okay, just so you all know, I love Ian. When Abi and Riley insult him, it's them, not me. So, no killing me please!

Chapter 24

"How he even got through the airport back home, I don't know," Abigail said while Ben drove away from the welcoming lights of the city toward where he had been told the house of Jesse James was.

"Well, with the right program, it's actually pretty easy to make yourself a fake I.D. card," Ben told her. "And Ian's smart, so…"

Abigail smirked at him. "Yes, you're very good at making a false identity, Mr. _Brown_. And Bill in the back too, of course."

Ben smiled as he laughed a little. "Very funny," Riley snapped from the back seat. "Remember that pipe you said that Bigfoot supposedly took _wasn't_ actually taken by Bigfoot but by Ian, which is what lead us to the treasure? Huh? Remember _that_?"

"Is there a difference?"

Riley looked up at Abigail in shock. She had just insulted Ian. This lady was _mad_. Ian had better watch his back.

But he had to come up with a snappy comeback. "Um… very little. Ian's just not as rare since he seems to pop up everywhere."

Even Ben had to laugh at that joke. But the smile lingered on his face for only a minute as his nerves rose up inside of him again. Ian… they were meeting Ian…

Riley took out his pocket flashlight and aimed its beam on the paper with the clue on it, reading over the neatly written words for what felt like the hundredth time. He had no idea what the first part meant, but he wondered if he could possibly figure out the second.

"Close to your heart the key now lies. Look there for answers, each beat will be your guide," he whispered to himself, having the feeling that the answer was directly in front of him and had been the entire time. He then wondered if this would be like the movies where a character suddenly got struck by inspiration.

Suddenly, Ben hit a large bump in the road that he obviously hadn't seen, and Riley winced when the jade cross pendant that his father had given him bounced and hit his chest… right over his heart. "Ow, Ben. You need to be a better driver…" the techie began to complain, but his sentence trailed off when he realized where the pendant had hit him. He felt his heart beat against it, and he suddenly knew what the second part of the clue meant. Riley quickly pulled the jade cross out from under his shirt and stared at it resting in the palm of his hand. This was the key…

"Here we are," Ben said impassively.

Riley looked up and saw in the headlights that they were approaching a wooden house set away from the rest of the city. The lights were on and there was a large group of people inside, and he realized that there must have been a tour still going on.

"Wow. It's a small house set in the middle of a dark, abandoned nowhere," Abigail commented with a smug smile. "How appropriate."

"Yeah," Riley muttered nervously. "No one can hear you scream."

"Okay, it's almost eight now," Ben told them as he opened the car door and climbed out after he parked, Riley and Abigail following him. "The next tour starts in ten minutes. I don't know what Ian's plans are, but we can either go on the tour to get a look around or we can go in after the tour is done."

"Why don't we go on the tour anyway, with or without Ian?" Riley suggested, putting the cross pendant beneath his shirt again. "That way, we can still have a basic idea of the place."

"I like the idea, but something's telling me that Ian won't go for it," Ben muttered.

"Yeah…" Then, Riley's eyes widened when another car suddenly pulled up and parked in front of them, but then he relaxed when a small family climbed out, early for the next tour.

Abigail let out the breath that she had been holding and then laughed nervously. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought it was Ian."

"Ah, so you were expecting me. Excellent."

Ben, Abigail, and Riley quickly turned around at the sudden voice, all horrified at who they saw. "Ian," the treasure hunter muttered, trying to will his racing heart to return to its normal rate. "We didn't… see you arrive…"

"We parked in the back of the house," Ian explained. "You know, we didn't want to attract to much attention."

"Why?" Riley asked in a sarcastic tone, yet still confused. "You're not wanted here."

Ian laughed a little. "Oh, Riley. There are different reasons for not wanting to draw attention to ones self." The English man moved his light jacket to the side, and the younger man was horrified to see that there was a gun on his belt. Powell and Dustin did the same from behind him, revealing that they each had one also. Nick appeared to be the only one that was uncomfortable around the metallic weapon.

"See what I mean?" Ian asked with a grin, concealing the gun once more. "It would be in your best interest to cooperate with us."

Ben's eyes were filled with terror as he looked at the four men, his dream suddenly flooding back to him. Dustin… the gun… _Riley_…

Suddenly, he gasped when Abigail gently grabbed his hand, bringing him back to reality. "Ben," she said quietly.

"Oh. Right," Ben muttered heavily, turning back to the English man. "So what do we do?"

Ian smirked at him. "I was hoping that you would ask," he replied. "What we should do is-!"

"No," Dustin interrupted irritably, stepping up beside Ian. "We followed your plan last time. Now it's my turn."

"Well, my plan worked, did it not?" Ian snapped, turning to face him. "We got the clue."

"We still need the next one," Dustin commented. "We need it from _them_!" He pointed at Ben, Abigail, and Riley.

"And we will," Ian told him. "Don't worry, Dustin. But I am the one with more experience in this sort of matter, made evident by your earlier blunders. We go with my plan."

Dustin glared at him while Nick and Powell exchanged looks, relieved that they weren't involved. "Why must you constantly bring those up?" he demanded heatedly. "I've already admitted to you that murdering Jeremy and that old man with his secretary was a bad idea. What more do you want, Ian?"

Riley gasped quietly when he heard his brother use their father's name. Their father had always drilled into their heads to call people by their respective titles and would never let them call him anything other than "dad", which Dustin had just ignored. The fact stung him deep.

"Dustin, how could you disrespect Dad's name like that?" Riley asked, sorrow etched on his face.

"Why do you care, you brat?" Dustin said angrily, his hang moving to the gun hidden on his belt. "He kept things from you, even lied to you!"

"He practically raised us on his own! He put his heart and soul into us!" Riley cried, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "He loved you, Dustin, and you threw that all away!"

"Well, he obviously loved you more!" Dustin shouted, his voice sounding pained and betrayed by the words he was speaking. "He left you the treasure that should have been passed down to the oldest child! That treasure rightfully belongs to me!"

"Dustin-!"

"Riley, just stop!" Ben suddenly snapped, shocking the techie into silence. "Just stop and shut up!" This was it. The anger that he had been keeping inside had finally boiled, and the constant arguing had gotten to him… along with the fact that he had just discovered that he had lost his chapstick when he had gone through airport security.

"I'm… sorry, Ben…" Riley muttered, giving the older man a small, pathetic smile as he hid his true feelings. Ben snapping at him hurt him just as much as hearing Dustin disrespect their dad.

Ben ignored him as he checked his watch. "The tour started five minutes ago," he addressed the group, unable to believe that pointless arguing had wasted so much time. "If we go in now, we should be able to catch the last part of it. Should we go?"

Ian nodded. "Yes," he answered. "At least we'll be able to get a look around. Thank you for agreeing with my plan, Ben."

Xxxxxxxxxx

It was amazing what someone could learn, or not learn, from the back of a tour group when the purpose was not to pay attention to what the tour leader was saying. Ben, Abigail, Ian, and Dustin were on constant lookout for any signs of possible locations of treasure while Powell and Nick were just bored. Riley dragged a little behind the others, his mind in emotional turmoil as he thought about everything that had happened. Dustin and Ian arguing which led to another argument between him and Dustin, and finally ending with Ben yelling at him. Too many things were happening at once that he didn't know if he should be sad, angry, both, or neither.

But it was the last stop on the tour that caught everyone's attention- the living room.

"And it was in this very room that the reign of terror caused by Jesse James was ended," the tour guide was saying, her Northern dialect not really working for this tour. "He was standing on a chair on this wall to straighten this picture when sheriff Robert Ford took the chance to claim his prize. You can see the shattered glass where he shot him through the window right behind you, but you can also see that the picture remained crooked on the wall. There was really no need to straighten it out, but another reason that it was left the way it was is because it provides the same atmosphere as in the year 1882…"

Ben tuned out the rest of what the tour guide was saying as he stared at the slanted picture hanging on the wall intently. This was the same living room where all of his dreams had taken place, and he wondered just how important that picture really was…

Riley stared at the crooked picture also, thinking of the first part of the final clue. As he stared at it, his eyes widened as he finally understood what it meant.

"Now if you all follow me, we'll walk a little way down the road where the remains of the old sheriff station is," the tour guide concluded cheerfully. "I hope you all of your flashlights that we gave you ready!"

Everyone but Ben, Ian, Riley, Abigail, Dustin, Nick, and Powell followed her out into the mild night. Once they were gone, Ben slowly walked over to the wall where the picture hung, fighting the urge to try to straighten it.

"So, Ben. Do you know what the next clue means?" Ian suddenly asked from behind him. "I know you have it."

Ben sighed and slowly turned around to face him, able to truthfully say, "No, I don't. I don't know what it means." He desperately hoped that Ian believed him and didn't think that he was trying to bluff.

Ian stared at him carefully for a long minute, and then turned to look at his henchman. "Powell," he muttered.

Powell grinned, and he suddenly reached forward and pulled Abigail to him, pulling out his gun and placing it against her head.

"Abigail!" Ben shouted anxiously, reaching out his hand toward her but afraid to walk forward because of the weapon so dangerously close to her.

"Ben, give me the clue, and Doctor Chase will not be harmed," Ian said calmly. Then, his eyes traveled to the treasure hunter's hand, narrowing when he saw the ring on his finger. Then, he lifted Abigail's left arm and saw that there was a ring on her finger as well. A smirk spread across his face. "Or should I say Doctor _Gates_ will not be harmed?"

The treasure hunter cursed to himself. Now, Ian knew the one thing that Ben had hoped to keep secret so that he couldn't use it against him. But then, he suddenly remembered that another factor had suddenly come into play about Abigail that Ian didn't know about…

"Ben, the clue," Ian stated strictly.

Nick slowly approached the English man, an unsure expression on his face. "Ian, are you sure that we should use force?" he asked quietly.

Ian smiled at the younger man. "Don't worry, little brother," he answered, his eyes gleaming. "No one will be hurt if everyone cooperates."

Riley was shocked by his words. "What? Little _brother_?!"

"Oh, I guess you didn't know," Ian said in a taunting way, putting an arm around Nick's shoulders. "A long time ago when we were both still in school, Nick's mother married my father after they moved to England. We grew up together."

"You told me that you had a step brother, Ian, but I would never have guessed that it was Nick," Ben said quietly. "That would explain the different last names."

"Nick, I didn't know that _Ian_ was your step brother," Riley muttered.

But Nick just shrugged. "The need for his name never really came up in conversation," he retorted.

"All right, that's out of the way. Now, Ben, the clue," Ian said, losing patience. "I want my share of the treasure so I can get out of here."

Dustin looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean _your_ share?" he asked. "I wasn't planning on sharing with you or Powell."

Ian's expression suddenly turned furious as he faced the older Poole. "What do you mean? I helped you find it!" he replied. "I deserve a part of that treasure! Nick told me that you would at least give us ten percent!"

"Nick, why did you say a thing like that?" Dustin demanded, rounding on his best friend.

"I… I thought you were going to," Nick stuttered in his defense. "You're giving me that much, so I assumed that you were going to do the same for them. It's only fair since they did help us to find it."

Dustin glared at him angrily. "I will share with you, but not _them_!" he said, turning his attention back to Ian. "I sprung you and Powell from jail on Nick's urging. That's payment enough!"

"Only because _I_ came up with the plan to get myself out!" Ian snapped in return. "You only carried it out since I couldn't do it from the inside, Poole!"

"I don't care what you say! That treasure belongs to _me_ and has belonged to _my_ family for decades! No one is getting any of it but me!" Dustin exclaimed, pulling out his gun and aiming it at Ben. "And I want that clue _now_, Ben!"

Ben's eyes faltered, glancing at Abigail still in Powell's clutches before meeting Dustin's desperate gaze. "I don't know what it means…"

Dustin loaded the weapon, but was stopped from fulfilling the threat by another voice.

"Dustin, don't! _I_ have the clue!"

Ben's mind seemed to go numb. He remembered the dream that he had had when he had dozed off at the hotel, and before he knew what was happening, Riley was standing between him and the gun. "Riley, no!"

"Dustin, if that gun goes off, it's going to hit me, not Ben," Riley told him with determination, anger flaring in his eyes. "I'm not going to let you hurt my older brother!"

The older Poole seemed hurt by this statement, for his eyes faltered as he hesitated with the gun. "Riley, just move out of the way. I don't want to hurt you!"

"No!" Riley repeated heatedly, making sure that he was still protecting the treasure hunter. "You heard me, Dustin! You're not my brother anymore!" He glanced back at his best friend with a smile on his face. "I'm Ben's annoying kid brother now."

Dustin hesitated once more, unable to pull the trigger with his brother standing in front of Ben. "Riley, please. Just move…" he muttered desperately.

But before Riley could reply, Ian walked toward the older Poole. Nick decided to follow close behind after a moment, knowing that approaching Dustin at this time might not be the best idea.

"Dustin, put the gun down," Ian told him firmly, placing his hand on his arm to try to lower it. "That's not going to help!"

The sudden hand startled Dustin, and he quickly whirled around. And because of his jump, his finger pressed down on the trigger, and, his arms in a different direction than the rest of his body, the gun went off.

**A/N**: Wow, that felt like a long chapter. Probably because a lot went on, and then there's an even eviler cliffie! Hoped you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer**: Trust me, if the characters were mine, I would be working on the next National Treasure movie. So, they're clearly not mine because I'm still sitting at home and not off in Hollywood.

**A/N**: Hey, thanks for all of your quick reviews! Because I left you all in a terrible cliffhanger, I decided to update again today so you wouldn't have to suffer too long. Thank you so much to **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **Majestik Moose**, **daisyduke80**, **doodlegirll**, **Jedi'Pirate** **Jaeh**, **fantomfairy**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Masterarcher**, **Spellinggirl**, **Raina-Bess**, **Maira Blue**, **karmine**, **Halo**, and **bigmacsparkey** for your wonderful reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, but you may want some Kleenexes nearby…

Chapter 25

"_Riley_!"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Ben watched in horror as Riley jerked after the gunshot as he heard Abigail scream loudly in terror, watched him hit the floor lifelessly. No, not Riley… Why didn't he move him out of the way like an older brother should have to protect the younger? Some brother _he_ turned out to be…

But Ben was finally able to push thoughts of his dream aside, seeing what had truly happened. Riley had jumped after the gunshot, but only because he hadn't expected the sudden loud noise. The gun had gone off, but Riley hadn't been the one who was hit.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Time seemed to move even slower for Ian. One minute, he was facing down the barrel of Dustin's gun, and the next, he was on the wooden floor because someone had shoved him there. The English man watched in horror as Nick stepped in front of the gun just as it was fired, the bullet burying itself deep into his lower right side. The younger man then collapsed limply to the floor, his face deathly pale.

There was a shocked moment of silence, except for Nick's continuous cries of pain filling the small living room. The sound finally bringing him back to reality, Ian recovered first. He got to his feet and dropped back down beside his writhing stepbrother. "Nick!" he shouted anxiously, placing his hand on his pale cheek. "Nick!"

At the sound of his name, Nick's eyes slowly fluttered open. He opened his mouth to try to say the English man's name, but he grimaced in pain and closed his eyes tightly again, holding his agonizing side.

Filled with fear, Ian gently moved Nick's arms away before removing his light jacket, placing it firmly down on the wound. Nick cried out in pain from the pressure, but the older man didn't remove the jacket or lighten the force. He knew that the wound wouldn't kill him immediately, but it _was_ in a place that _could_ kill him over time if it wasn't tended to. He also knew that Nick would have a better chance of living if he could disrupt the blood flow so he wouldn't lose too much.

"Hold on, Nick," Ian whispered desperately, allowing him to grab on to his hand tightly because of the pain he was experiencing. "Stay with me, little brother."

Riley stared at the older Poole with horror after finally able to tear his eyes away from Nick. "Oh my God… Dustin, what did you do?"

"I… I didn't…" Dustin protested quietly in defense, still in shock about what had happened. "I didn't hurt him on purpose…" Then, the fact that his best friend could die finally hitting him, Dustin rushed forward to kneel down by Nick to check him over. But he was shocked when Ian pushed him away.

"No! Don't get near him!" the English man shouted frantically. "_You're_ the reason why he's like this! _You're_ the one who did this to him!"

Powell released a struggling Abigail, who ran over to Ben and Riley, and stood behind Ian with his gun directed at Dustin in case he decided to try to approach them again. "Thank you," Ian barely acknowledged him, his attention fully on tending to Nick.

"No… I didn't mean to!" Dustin shouted, lowering his gun to his side. "I didn't do this on purpose, Ian!"

As Ben watched the confusion, something snapped in the back of his mind. He felt terrible about what had happened to Nick, but another strong feeling replaced it when he realized that it could have easily been Riley. It could have been Riley that had gotten shot, that was lying on the floor in agonizing pain. It could have been his own little brother walking the fine line between life and death. It was too much for him to handle.

His anger finally getting the best of him, Ben released Abigail and pushed past Riley, approaching a stunned Dustin. The older Poole looked back at him, grunting in pain when the treasure hunter's fist collided with his face.

Abigail screamed and covered her mouth as Dustin fell to the ground because of the force, Riley appearing just as horrified. "Ben, what are you doing?!" he asked anxiously.

But Ben ignored them, stepping heavily on Dustin's wrist to make him release the gun. Once the weapon was out of his hand, the treasure hunter bent down and grabbed it, loading it and aiming it with shaking hands at the other man. Powell turned to aim his gun at Ben while Ian slowly pulled out his and did the same. An emotionally unstable Ben who had just lost his chapstick going through airport security holding a deadly weapon was not good, especially when he wasn't used to holding one…

"Ben!" Abigail cried as tears formed in her eyes.

Dustin only laughed when he saw how uncomfortable Ben was holding the gun. "Come now, Ben. Do you really think that you can scare me with that?" he asked.

Abigail clung tightly to Riley's arm, the tears finally escaping from her eyes. "Stop him, Riley," she pleaded in a whisper when the techie looked back at her. "Please stop him."

"You're not walking away from this, Dustin," Ben muttered fiercely, his voice laced with anger that didn't suit him. "Not after what you put your own brother through."

"Why do you even care?" Dustin said in surprise. "Riley isn't much to you. He's just your friend!"

Ben's eyes took on an even brighter flame. "Riley's my little brother too," he told him quietly. "I was the one that watched him suffer through so much pain, both physically and emotionally. And _I_ was the one who suffered along with him, while _you_ were the one who caused him all that pain. I am going to make sure that you pay for everything you did to him!"

"Then what are you waiting for?!" Dustin cried desperately, tears forming in his own eyes. "What have I got to lose? I killed my own father! I betrayed my own brother! I hurt my best friend! All for some treasure that we can't even find! Ben, just get it over with. Please!"

The treasure hunter was caught off guard by his pleas, but his anger soon took over his actions. He took a deep breath, his finger resting lightly on the trigger as he prepared to pull it back…

"Ben, don't."

Ben gasped quietly, the calm voice bringing him out of his anger. He slowly turned around, seeing that Riley was staring back at him, his face an emotionless mask. But he knew the younger man well enough to know that he was struggling hard to keep back his true feelings.

"Please, Ben. Don't do this," Riley repeated quietly. "He's not worth it."

"But, Riley," Ben said in disbelief. "He-!"

"I know what he did," Riley interrupted, a firm tone to his voice. "But we can let the police handle him. Okay?" A small smile appeared on his face.

Ben looked at him for a long moment, and then turned his eyes to the gun in his hands. He suddenly dropped it to the floor as though the metal had suddenly become burning hot, anxious to rid himself of it. Abigail sighed with relief, rushing forward into her husband's arms as she cried quietly into his shoulder. Ben felt tears beginning to fall from his own eyes, and he reached over with one arm to pull Riley into a group embrace. The techie felt as though he could finally breathe easily again, and the tears that he had been keeping back for much too long finally escaped.

Dustin watched them for a minute, and then rolled on to his side to reach for the gun that Ben had dropped. But before he could get a hold of it, the door of the house suddenly crashed open. Everyone except Nick quickly turned to the doors, watching as many FBI agents rushed inside, all holding guns.

"Freeze! Drop your weapons!" they all commanded.

Powell and Ian both dropped their guns immediately, and Dustin left the third one where it was on the floor. When it appeared that there wasn't any danger, another man entered the house and stopped in front of the four criminals. "Mr. Howe, you and your associates are under arrest… again… for breaking out of prison, kidnapping, murder, and breaking and entering while causing damage to a public building," Agent Peter Saudsky announced.

Ian took a deep breath, looking down at the now-still Nick in his arms. "I will go quietly _if_ I am allowed to go with my brother," he told the agent. "Once I know that he will live, _then_ I will go to prison. Please."

Sadusky's eyes narrowed in concern as he looked down at the pale form of Nick and the gunshot wound in his side. Then, he took out his walkie-talkie and began to anxiously speak into it, "We need an ambulance at 1318 Lafayette Street. I repeat. 1318 Lafayette Street." Once he was done giving the order, he turned his attention back to the English man. "All right, Mr. Howe. Your brother will be brought to the nearest facility. You may stay with him under heavy guard. You other two companions will stay there for now also until you all are ready for transfer to prison."

"Thank you," Ian muttered with clear relief, getting to his feet as he allowed an agent to handcuff him, giving Dustin and Powell a look to tell them to do the same. Ian didn't leave Nick's side until the rescue squad came to the house and took him out to the waiting ambulance, and even then, the English man stayed with him the entire way. Powell and Dustin, following Ian's example, allowed themselves to be arrested quietly. But as he was being led away, the older Poole met Riley's eyes, giving him a hurt yet angry look.

"This isn't over, _little brother_," he whispered fiercely. Then, he was gone.

"We're clear," Sadusky said into his walkie-talkie, signaling for the other agents to leave. The order was relayed, and all of his men that he had brought with him began to leave. As the last few straggled out, Sadusky turned to the remaining Ben, Abigail, and Riley with a small smile.

"Are any of you going to die or need any medical attention whatsoever?"

"No, we're fine, Agent Sadusky," Ben answered, a small smile appearing on his face in return. "But how did you know that we were here?"

Sadusky sighed deeply. "Next time, tell you're mother why you're leaving," he told him with shining eyes.

Ben laughed at the comment, knowing that his mother must have called the agent because she was worried about him since he didn't tell her why they were suddenly flying to Missouri. That definitely sounded like something his mother would do… "We'll be right out, Sadusky."

"All right," Sadusky said. "I'll be outside if you need anything… trying to keep away the press."

"Thank you," Ben nodded at him. When the agent was gone, the treasure hunter turned to his wife. "It's over," he whispered after another tear fell from her eyes, kissing her. "It's all over now…"

"No it isn't," Riley suddenly muttered. "We have to find the treasure yet."

Ben looked at him with confusion. "Riley, we don't know what your father's clue means," he told him. "How are we supposed to find it if we don't understand it?"

Riley smiled. "Ben, I know what the clue means," he replied. "Didn't you hear me when I said, 'I know the clue'?"

"Um…"

"You were probably too occupied with me jumping in front of Dustin's gun," Riley muttered off-handedly. "But I did mean it when I said I knew it."

Ben looked at him expectantly. "I would appreciate it if you told us what it meant, Riley," he said.

Riley smirked. "I don't know. This is the first time _I_ have figured out a clue before you," he taunted. "Let me enjoy it for a minute. Then again, I could be evil and _not_ tell you-!"

"Riley!" Abigail interrupted impatiently.

"Fine, fun-spoiler," Riley muttered. "The first part of the clue is crooked is straight, straight is crooked, you are almost at your journey's end. The word _crooked_ is the key word." He pointed up at the picture that was hanging on the wall above them. "There. Crooked."

"How do you know that's the meaning?" Ben asked with confusion. "It could just be a random picture that Jesse James didn't have time to fix."

"I know that's it because I know my dad, Ben," Riley answered quietly, and the treasure hunter instantly believed him because of the look in his eyes.

"All right. So what about the second part?"

Riley smiled. "Let's just say that I was struck by sudden inspiration when we were driving over here," he told him. Then, he pulled out the jade cross pendant from beneath his shirt. "This is the key. The clue talks about the key being close to my heart, and this is the one thing that I always keep there. Plus, it makes sense since Jesse James also gave this to Clara however long ago, telling her that it would make sense once she figured out the map."

"That may be true," Abigail muttered, "but how do we _use_ that key?"

"Well," Riley said, "I've been thinking about that, and I think we may have to follow Jesse James' example. Ben, could you pass me that chair please?"

Ben looked down at the chair that was sitting next to him, removing the "do not sit" sign before handing it to his best friend. Abigail cringed as she watched the techie climb on to the chair, preparing to straighten out the picture.

"Riley, I don't' know if you should do that…"

"What? The sign clearly says 'do not _sit_'," Riley replied with a smirk. "It doesn't say anything about not _standing_."

Abigail laughed a little while Ben smiled at the remark, and they both watched anxiously as Riley straightened out the picture. For a minute, nothing happened. But then, all three of them heard a loud click, and they watched as a panel on the wall slowly swung inward beside the techie. Ben exchanged a look with the younger man before walking forward and pushing it farther open, revealing a set of spiraling stone steps. Riley and Abigail exchanged excited smiles.

They had found the path that would hopefully lead them to the treasure.

**A/N**: Sorry about the heart-attack tiny section at the beginning. I couldn't resist. But this chapter was meant to show the different levels of Ian, and how in some cases, he's not as bad as he seems. But, now they just have to find the treasure. Is this it? You'll have to find out with my next update! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer**: Uh, last time I checked, Ben and co. not mine! Dustin, Nick, and everyone else that I threw in before are mine though!

**A/N**: Thanks for all of your quick reviews! I just can't believe that we're already reaching this point, you guys! This is my _last_ chapter! _**BUT**_ (see, there's a "but". Don't panic yet) I _do_ have an epilogue planned. _**AND**_ (see, there's an "and" too) since I've reached 200 reviews (and much beyond, thank you everyone!), I will throw in a little surprise after the epilogue and then something else that you'll all love. So, this isn't over yet! Thank you so much to **daisyduke80**, **Halo**, **doodlegirll**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **karmine**, **AliuIce0814**, **Majestik Moose**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **riley-poole27**, and **fantomfairy** for your wonderful reviews! Also, special thanks to **ripooleexQlp**, who reviewed chapter 24 but I didn't see the review before I submitted 25. Thank you! All right, here we go!

Chapter 26

Riley climbed down from the chair and walked with Abigail to join Ben at the entrance of the narrow doorway. The three of them stared down the flight of stone steps, wondering what awaited them at the bottom.

"Well, I think Riley should go first," Ben finally said, putting his arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"What? Why me?" Riley asked with surprise.

Abigail gave him a kind smile. "Well, you _were_ the one who figured out your father's final clue when Ben and I couldn't," she answered him, ruffling his hair playfully. "Also, the treasure belongs to you and your family, not us."

Riley sighed. "That may be true, but Ben-!" he began.

"No, Riley. This is your turn," Ben interrupted him, shaking him gently. "Lead the way."

"Well, all right…" Riley took out the flashlight that everyone had been handed before the tour began, and he cautiously began to head down the spiraling stairs. Ben and Abigail followed close behind, their flashlights also out for visibility. Riley stumbled a little as one of the stone steps crumbled beneath his feet, but he was saved from falling by Ben's sturdy hand. The rest of the way down went by without any near accidents, and they found themselves facing a long, underground, dirt path. Some water dropped down from the earthy ceiling above because of the rain that had recently fallen.

Abigail nudged Riley to make him go forward, but instead, he linked arms with Ben and Abigail so that they would stick together, their three separate flashlight beams merging to create one as they walked. At one point, Riley cried out in surprise when a rat ran out on the dirt path in front of them, making Abigail and Ben laugh as they were forced to stop because of the small rodent. The techie laughed nervously, wondering what other creepy crawlies were in the tunnel.

Soon, the three friends reached a stone wall at the end of the path without running into any other alarming creatures. Riley, Ben, and Abigail separated and began to look over the stone with their flashlights, searching for a clue that could lead them further. Riley wandered aimlessly, though his eyes were intent as they scanned the wall. What exactly he was looking for, he wasn't sure.

Then, he stopped when he saw a small indent on the wall in the shape of a cross. Riley stepped closer to it to look at it better, and then he looked down at the pendant around his neck. Remembering how the carved pipe had helped them to discover the Templar Treasure, he quickly pulled the jade cross off over his head and gently pushed it into the indent. He jumped when the loud sound of stone moving against stone echoed around them, and Ben and Abigail quickly joined Riley, seeing that a part of the seeming solid wall had moved back to form a thin doorway. The treasure hunter moved forward, and with Riley's help, he slid the stone door aside, revealing another narrow hallway.

Riley hesitated when he saw how small it was, but he smiled slightly when Abigail took his hand in hers reassuringly. They then followed Ben as he led the way through the hallway, and they all stopped in awe when it finally opened into a large, rectangular room. Gold bars and coins were stacked in many piles that almost rose to the ceiling, covering most of the floor space. Jewelry such as strands of pearls, diamonds, and emeralds were scattered throughout the room along with other valuables such as golden watches. Everything that Jesse James had ever stolen was glistening in the beams of their flashlights.

"Congratulations, Riley," Abigail said with a broad smile as Ben shook the younger man excitedly. "This is all yours."

But Riley shook his head as he looked at all of the riches that had belonged to his family since the year 1882. "No, not all for me," he replied, turning to face his two best friends. "Even you said before that this treasure belongs to my _family_ and I, Abi. Well, you are the only family that I have left, so I'm going to share it with both of you."

"No, Riley," Ben told him as he shook his head. "You deserve all of this and more after what you've been through. Don't waste this on us."

"I'm not wasting it, Ben," Riley muttered with a small smile. "You guys are what helped me to find the treasure in the first place. Come on. Go pick out what you want before I change my mind. At least you don't have to worry about if you should get fired, Abi."

Abigail sighed and exchanged a look with Ben before she began to wander through the piles of gold and jewels, if anything just to see what there was. Ben smiled as he followed her, also curious.

Riley scanned the large room again, unable to believe that all of the riches truly belonged to him. It just didn't seem possible… Then, amongst the gold and gemstones, a hint of shining silver caught his eye. Curious, he wandered over, seeing that it was a bracelet with a diamond pendant on it. There was a note tied to it, and the techie had to squint to see the faded writing.

_For Clara_

A smile appeared on his face when he realized that Jesse James must have left the bracelet for his ancestor. Though he clearly wasn't Clara, Riley picked it up and put it in his pocket, knowing that he could give it to someone that was important to him one day.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Nick slowly opened his eyes, groaning as returning to consciousness brought back the immense pain in his side. The last thing he remembered was pushing Ian out of the way of the gun that Dustin was holding, shortly followed by the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt in his life. Thinking about his stepbrother suddenly made him panic. Where was Ian? Was he okay?

"Are you all right?"

At the sound of the sudden question, Nick quickly turned to his right, surprised at who he saw sitting in a chair next to him. "Ian?" he asked.

Ian smiled at him and nodded, but Nick noticed immediately that something was different. His stepbrother's hands were handcuffed to the head rail of the bed that he was laying in, and there were three FBI agents standing around the room. "Where are we?" the younger man asked anxiously. "What's going on?"

"Relax," Ian answered with a slight laugh. "We're in a high-security medical facility because of the wound you have acquired. It's not a hospital, but this is were all us criminals go if we need medical attention. Dustin and Powell are being held in the next room. Once you are well enough, we will all be moved to prison. But you may rest easy for now."

Nick sighed deeply, closing his eyes again as he made himself comfortable against the pillows. "So, we really are going to prison, aren't we?" he muttered.

"Yes, little brother," Ian said, and odd shine in his eyes as he watched Nick look at him again with recognition. "We're going to prison."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"So, why didn't you tell me that Abi was expecting?" Riley asked as he walked down the sidewalk with his best friend. It had been a couple of weeks since they had discovered the treasure of Jesse James in St. Joseph and had all become richer, and he had only just found out that day that there was going to be a new member of their strange but tightly-knit family.

"Well, it never really came up in conversation, Riley," Ben answered as he laughed. "Besides, I didn't want Ian to know about it."

Riley rolled his eyes. "You could have told me _before_ we met up with Ian, you know," he said with annoyance. "Or after."

"It just wasn't the right time."

"Stop making up excuses."

Ben laughed again. "I'm sorry, Riley," he muttered.

"You should be," Riley retorted with a smile. "But just warn me whenever she's having one of her bad mood swings so I can stay away and not be yelled at."

"Deal. I don't blame you after that fake realistic-looking spider that you put in her suitcase before we left Missouri."

"Ha, that was hilarious. I didn't even think they _had_ those in St. Joseph!" Riley laughed as they drew nearer to the pizzeria where Kristi, Dustin's old girlfriend, still worked. It was such a beautiful day that they had decided to walk instead of drive, and since Abigail was at work, they had decided to meet for lunch. The two friends had mainly been talking about the somewhat recent events and also figure out what to do with the rest of the Jesse James treasure. So far, they hadn't figured out anything…

"Hey, did Sadusky ever tell you what that third word was that was written in Cathy's notebook that night she was killed at the funeral home?" Ben suddenly asked. "I know he had some people working on it."

"Oh, that? Yeah, he gave me a call about a week ago," Riley answered off-handedly. "He said that those people you mentioned think that that last word was supposed to be _danger_ or something like that. But I'm off the hook anyway since Dustin admitted to killing her…"

Ben's eyes softened with sorrow when he heard the younger man's statement, wanting to change the topic away from Dustin. "I'm just thinking about how interesting a young child will be in our lives," he muttered.

Riley smiled. "It sure will be," he agreed. "But I must say that I feel sorry for him or her."

"Why is that, Riley?"

"Because they'll have you and Abi for parents," Riley told him. "With a history buff and a document freak, they won't have a chance."

Ben raised his eyebrows. "Chance of what?" he asked.

Riley's eyes shone. "Of being cool."

The treasure hunger looked startled by the comment, which made Riley laugh since that was the reaction he had hoped to get. "I'm just kidding, Ben. I said this at your wedding and I'll say it again. You and Abi are awesome and are probably the best friends that I'll ever have," the techie said. "You'll make great parents."

"You didn't say that last part at the wedding," Ben said.

Riley rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. I added that in because of the situation," he muttered. "Oh, I almost forgot. I want to show you what I got in the mail today."

The two friends stopped when they were in front of the pizzeria, and Riley pulled out a card from his laptop bag. Ben took it and saw that it was a sympathy card by the cover. He opened it and quickly read over the message inside.

"I'm so sorry for the loss of your father, Riley. Pass the message along to Dustin also. I love you both and am always thinking about you."

"This took a while to get here," Ben commented, seeing that it was from Riley's Aunt Mary.

Riley smiled. "Duh, Ben. It takes mail a long time to get here from New Delhi, India, you know," he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ben watched as the techie then entered the pizzeria with confusion, looking back down at the card in his hand. Riley really did have an aunt who lived in New Delhi, India? He remembered the night when the younger man had been looking through pictures of the two of them on his laptop and had claimed that he was sending them to her, but he had believed that he had only made that up as an excuse to not tell him what was really on his mind. Knowing that he would never fully understand Riley, Ben smiled and laughed to himself as he followed his best friend into the pizzeria.

**A/N**: That may be the end of the actual story, but there's still more to come. Look out for the epilogue and two more surprises coming soon! In honor of one of my friends who isn't on this site, here's an alternate ending for her: When Ben, Abigail, and Riley find the treasure room, she runs in and touches the first piece of treasure that she sees. Claiming that she touched it first and it is now hers, she laughs and runs from the room. Ben, Abigail, and Riley watch her leave in complete and utter confusion. Anyway, thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	27. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: The cute little kid in this epilogue is the only thing that belongs to me. Nothing else is mine.

**A/N**: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews for this entire story! You guys are the best! But, since I'm in a good mood today, and if I don't know if I'll get the chance to get back on before spring break is over, I'm not only going to put the epilogue up, but the two surprises as well! So, review as much as you want! The more I get, the more the possibility of a second story rises… So, thank you so much to **AliuIce0814**, **daisyduke80**, **Miss Hermione Jane Granger**, **fantomfairy**, **momiji'sunusedhalo**, **Fantasy's Magic**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh**, **Majestik Moose**, **unorthodox yo-yo**, **Maira Blue**, **karmine**, and **Halo** for your wonderful reviews! So, here we go!

Epilogue

_One year later…_

Riley pulled into the driveway of his best friend's estate, parking as crookedly as possible just to annoy him. He took off his sunglasses and jumped out of his Ferrari, quickly running up the stairs and ringing the doorbell. The book he had written before they had found Cibola had finally picked up in popularity, and he had been out of town for the past four months because of it. He had felt terrible since Ben had called him and told him that Abigail had had her baby, and this was the first time that he had been able to see the new addition to their family, who was now three months old.

The door opened a minute later, and a smiling Ben was on the other side. "Hey, come on in, Riley!" he said, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Ben. Sorry I wasn't able to come sooner to see your little bundle of joy. This is the first time I've been home in four months. I haven't even been to my apartment yet, since you can see that all my luggage is still in my car…"

"We understand, Riley, but you could have stopped home first," Ben told him with a smirk.

Riley opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped short when the sound of crying reached his ears from the next room. "Oh no. Little bundle of joy trouble?"

"Yeah," Ben muttered with a sigh. "She was fine this morning…"

"That's all right, Ben," Riley said as he followed the older man into the large living room. "Babies are babies. They're unpredictable."

They saw that Abigail was pacing when they entered, trying to stop a tiny, brown-haired, three-month-old girl from crying. "Oh, hi, Riley," she greeted when she saw them. "Sorry about this. She was fine a minute ago."

"As I told Ben, it's all right," Riley replied. Then, he smirked at the treasure hunter. "Did she start crying because her daddy left the room?"

Ben returned the smirk. "Or because his uncle entered it," he retorted.

Riley didn't look amused. "Funny," he muttered before turning to Abigail, seeing that she looked fatigued. "Let me see this little bundle of joy, Abs."

"Are you sure, Riley?" Abigail asked, anxiously trying to calm the baby down. "I can get her to stop crying and then-!"

"No, Abi, that's fine. I can take her now," Riley interrupted in answer, extending his hands out in front of him.

"Well, all right…" Abigail carefully handed her daughter over to the younger man, watching as he began to gently bouncer her around to try to calm her while supporting her.

"You don't wanna' cry, do ya'?" Riley asked with a small laugh, beginning to walk around the living room. "'Cause crying isn't fun for you or the people around you. Wouldn't you rather be laughing? Now _that_, my dear, is fun."

Ben and Abigail watched in amazement as the little girl slowly stopped crying and looked up at the techie in awe. Riley smiled back down at her. "There you go," he said. "Now come on. Laugh."

"I must say I'm impressed, Riley," Abigail commented. "You're the first person who has gotten her to stop crying besides Ben and I."

Riley smiled at her. "That's because I'm her Uncle Riley, and I'm awesome," he explained.

Then, the three-month-old's tiny fist flew up and hit Riley beneath his chin. She began to laugh as the techie made a face at her, and Ben and Abigail even laughed since their younger friend had been hit in the face. "Now _that_ was funny," Abigail said to her husband.

"So, you think that's funny, do you?" Riley asked his little niece, who was still smiling up at him. "How about airplanes? Do you like airplanes?" He began to rock her a little higher in his arms, the small girl laughing with each swing. "Look, you're almost as tall as me!"

"He's so good with her," Ben muttered, amazed as he shook his head. "I never thought that _Riley_ would get along with her so well, especially since this is the first time they've met."

"They'll definitely be close," Abigail agreed with a smile. "He'll have to babysit when both of us are out."

"Why? Because he'll do it for free?" Ben teased.

Abigail smirked and kissed his cheek playfully. "No. Because he clearly loves her and will take good care of her," she told him.

Ben nodded, but then he quickly turned to his best friend when he forgot one very important detail about his daughter. "Hey, Riley. Did we ever tell you her name?" he asked.

"Um, no you have not," Riley answered, beginning to gently spin the three-month-old in a circle. "Last time you were able to get a hold of me, you were still undecided."

The treasure hunter laughed. "Her name is Clara," he told him.

Riley stopped spinning in circles and looked at his best friend with a raised eyebrow, nodding thoughtfully. "Pretty. But let me guess. Her middle name is Barton."

"How did you know?" Ben asked with confusion.

The techie opened his mouth to give a snappy comeback of how ever first and middle name of someone in the Gates line was some person's name in history, but then he grinned. "Lucky guess."

Clara suddenly laid her head against Riley's chest, her deep blue eyes closing. In a minute, she was sound asleep in his arms. Abigail moved forward to take her from him, but Riley shook his head and carefully sat down on the couch. "I don't want to disturb her," he whispered in explanation.

"Okay," Abigail said, sitting down on a chair across from him. "Riley, we have something we want to ask you. Besides being Clara's non-biological uncle, Ben and I were wondering if you would also be her godfather."

A smile appeared on Riley's face. "Of course I will," he told her, making the couple smile also "It would be an honor to be Clara's godfather."

"Thank you so much, Riley," Ben said. "It means a lot to us."

Riley shrugged carefully. "Hey, I do what I can," he replied. Then, he looked down on the sleeping Clara. "So, is she going to be a history nerd or a mean document lady?"

Abigail rolled her eyes. "How about a smart-alec computer hacker?" she asked sarcastically.

The younger man looked up at her with a smirk lighting up his face. "If the tides turn in my favor."

"She's _not_ going to be a computer hacker," Abigail said sternly. "Especially not an annoying, sarcastic one like you."

Riley pretended to look hurt. "Thanks, Abs," he pouted. "I love you too." Then, as he shifted to a more comfortable position, he felt something press against his leg from his pocket. Wondering what it was, the techie reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver bracelet with a diamond pendant on it… something that he had found in St. Joseph a year before that he always kept with him until he found the right person to give it to.

"What is that, Riley?" Ben asked. "It's beautiful."

"Oh, this?" Riley looked down at the bracelet, and then moved his eyes to his sleeping niece. "It's… It's just something that I got for Clara. It's too big now, but she'll grow into it."

Riley suddenly gasped when a slight movement caught his eye and turned to the window when he felt a sudden presence, and for a split second, he saw the man that had given him the final clue to the treasure in Missouri. Then, after a wink, he was gone.

Abigail smiled as she watched Riley turn back to Clara and put the silver bracelet against Clara's hand, and then her tiny fingers uncurled and grabbed it tightly. Yes, her daughter and Riley would be very close, she had no doubt.

But Ben looked at Riley seriously. "Now, Riley. Being an uncle and a godfather is a lot of responsibility-!"

"I know, Ben. Don't worry," Riley interrupted, smiling as he looked up at his best friend. "You have nothing to fear."

**A/N**: Well, that's it for that part! Onto the two surprises! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you!


	28. After the Credits Ending

**Disclaimer**: Nothing from Disney is mine, but Dustin and Nick are. Nor do I own the Banana Republic.

**A/N**: Hey, thanks for the reviews, guys! That's what was able to get this little random chapter thing on here that I like to call the "after the credits" ending. This is a completely random little part of the story that is dedicated to **Halo** because of all her help for this story with the Ian parts, but I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you so much, everyone! This is an alternate ending to the story with Ian and co. on what _could_ have happened to them. So, enjoy!

"After the Credits" Ending

Birds called, white waves crashed against the sandy shore, and the warm breeze moved gently through the air. Beneath the sun's bright rays sat four men in lawn chairs, all wearing shorts, flowered t-shirts, sunglasses and sandals and enjoying cool pina coladas and eating bananas served to them by beautiful women. This was the Banana Republic.

"This is the life, gentlemen," Ian Howe said, taking a sip of his drink after taking out the tiny umbrella.

"Amen to that!" Dustin Poole agreed, taking a sip of his also. Then, he threw his tiny umbrella at the English man, laughing when it hit him in the forehead.

"Who needs treasure hunting anyway?" Powell asked, taking a bite out of the banana that he had been given. "And your wound will heal fate in better climates too, kid." He nudged Nick's arm with his elbow.

Nick smiled. "We have white sand, deep blue water, great food and drink, and beautiful girls," he said, winking at one of the girls he had mentioned as she brought him another banana. "And we're not in prison since we were only in the van five minutes while we were on our way to the prison before we escaped thanks to Ian. What else do we need?"

No one said anything, but then Ian sat up thoughtfully. "Do you think we'll miss the treasure hunting though?" he asked. "I mean the thrill, the adventure, the reward?"

The other three men exchanged looks with each other, and then shook their heads. "Nah!" all four men exclaimed once the English man joined in, laughing that they had all voiced their thoughts at once.

"Well in that case, I would like to propose a toast," Ian announced, raising his pina colada glass as the others did the same. "To our health, happiness, and good fortune here in the Banana Republic!"

"Cheers!" the other three exclaimed, clinking the four glasses together. Then, they all leaned back in their chairs, laughing as they watched the waves and the girls beginning to dance around them, all beneath the warm light from the sun above them. This truly was the life.

**A/N**: As I said, just a random little piece. But the fact that they escaped is important, so yeah. Hope you enjoyed this little bit of randomness! The next surprise you'll really love, so please review!


	29. Trailer

**Disclaimer**: None of the characters from Disney are mine, but Clara Gates and this idea are.

**A/N**: Surprise! Because of all of the reviews that this story got and how awesome all of you reviewers are, I have decided to make a sequel to _Three Words_. Yes, sequel. Now, this is my first attempt at a trailer, so everyone be nice! I'm not sure when the first chapter will be posted, but I do have it started, so everyone watch out for it! Thank you all so much! Enjoy the "trailer"!

**They had found the secret treasure of Jesse James,**

_Shows treasure-filled room and Riley taking the silver bracelet_

**And now a time of peace has fallen on the Gates family…**

_Shows a sequence of shots: _

_Abigail laughing before Ben kisses her_

_Riley hugging a now eight-year-old Clara_

_Patrick laughing as Emily smiles while they open presents_

**Until that peace is shattered.**

_Shows Ben and Abigail yelling at each other while Riley tries to break them up as he shouts, "Stop!", and then cuts to Clara sitting up in bed an screaming. Ben rushes in and picks her up into his arms while Abigail stands pale in the doorway_

**Ben**: "I'm here, Clara. What did you see?"

_Shows Clara with her head on Ben's shoulder, a single tear falling from her eye; cuts sharply to black screen_

**Clara** _(voiceover)_: "Nothing."

**Now the world they know is threatened**

**Riley**: "Why does everything always have to be so difficult?"

**In an event that could bring all life to an end.**

_Shows Ben crossing his arms and sighing while Riley puts his head into his hands._

**Ben**: "The fate of the entire world rests on this one hunt."

**And when times are tough, they will have to depend on the help of the most unlikely person.**

_Cuts to black screen, hear a phone ringing followed by a man with a heavy English accent saying, "Hello?". Shows an anxious Ben with his cell phone out and speaking into it_

**Ben**: "Ian, we need your help."

_Cuts to a smirking Ian with his cell phone_

**Ian**: "You come crawling to me for help, Ben. How do I know that this isn't a set up? And what makes you think that I would help you? You landed me in jail before."

**Ben** _(over the phone)_: "Ian, if we don't find this in time, everyone will die!"

_Shows Ian slowly turning around to look at Nick sitting behind him, his expression torn_

**Time is running out**

_Shows a long sequence of shots: _

_Ben and Ian standing together over a book_

_Dustin punching Riley_

_Abigail screaming as she nearly falls off of a ledge_

_Ian smiling at a terrified-looking Clara_

_Emily crying while Patrick tries to comfort her_

_Sadusky yelling anxiously into his walkie-talkie while pulling out his gun_

_Ben unrolling a map of Russia_

_Ian lighting a torch and passing it to Riley_

_Clara happily watching the movie _Anastasia

_Powell and Nick throwing stones at an unseen person_

_A castle exploding_

_Ian shoving Dustin and then turning to catch Nick as he falls over a railing_

_Riley falling to the ground_

_The silver diamond pendant bracelet falling off of Clara's wrist and hitting the hard floor_

**To solve a world mystery of the secret of one of the most powerful royal families never fully explained**

_Shows Riley looking down at the cover of one of Clara's DVDs and then shows portrait of the Romanov family, cuts to just the youngest daughter_

**Riley** _(voiceover)_: "Anastasia?"

**To save the world from suffering the same fate.**

_Shows sequence of shots: _

_Abigail gasping as she quickly whirls around_

_Clara screaming_

_Ian looking above him nervously_

_Powell yelling out in warning_

_Nick hugging Ian_

_Dustin pulling out his gun and firing it_

_Riley smiling sadly_

_Ben shouting, "No!"_

**The Forgotten Heir**


End file.
